A Father For A Son
by NifadaDraculEadred
Summary: After Alaric's death. Jeremy is left without a legal guardian and Damon is the one to step in. P.S Stefan, Matt, Kol, Tyler,Klaus, Elena, Bonnie and Meredith are also in the chapters.
1. The Promise

The day in the cemetery of Mystic Falls was bright and beautiful, in a way that nothing could predict the darkness inside the soul of every resident of this town.

"I'm sorry about what happened…" muttered Jeremy, after Alaric's funeral.

Damon was sitting in a rock by the lake, drinking his bourbon and staring moodily at the ground. "Yeah" he replied, without even looking at the young boy standing in front of him.

"You know, I… I… really cared about him" continued Jeremy, trying desperately to keep control of his emotions. The last thing he wanted was to look weak in front of Damon. He was seeking for his respect, not his pity.

"He cared about you too" said Damon coldly, while standing up. He was taller than Jeremy, even though the boy did grow a lot since the first time he saw him, he was still a child. He was only sixteen years old and already managed to lose everyone he ever cared about. First his parents, both of his girlfriends, his uncle, his aunt and now the man he looked up tp. Damon didn't feel sorry for him though. He was a vampire. Vampires don't feel sorry, pity, nor regret, it was against his nature. Those were the feelings he fought all the one-hundred and eighty years of his existence. What he felt was betrayed. Betrayed by his best friend, who died and left him there, alone, to deal with all the problems and all the responsibilities. Betrayed by the love of his life. Betrayed by life itself.

"Will you be okay?" asked Jeremy looking at Damon's blank, pale face, worryingly.

Damon laughed sarcastically, reminding immediately his old, cold-hearted self.

"I'm a vampire, Jeremy. Of course I'll be okay"

"Good…" Jeremy turned his back to him and was about to leave, when Damon grabbed him by the upper arm, maybe a little harder than he expected. In his defense he was more than drunk.

"Who is going to be your guardian now?" he asked looking straight into the boy's eyes, as if he was trying to compel him.

"Umm I don't know… I mean Elena is eighteen, soon she'll be off to college" said Jeremy puzzled, trying to pull his arm away from Damon's grip.

"How about you?" asked Damon, pulling Jeremy even harder.

"I'll stay at home. I'm old enough, I have my ring. I'll be fine" answered Jeremy in one breath, holding back tears from the pain.

Damon freed him and took another sip from his bottle. "Want some?"

The boy was about to get the bottle off his hands, when Damon pulled it back, rolling his eyes. "Sorry, I forgot, you are underage"

"Seriously?" Jeremy sneered, "I can kill, I can talk to dead vampires for you and I can die so you get your way, but I can't drink?"

"Sounds about right"

"Sometimes I wonder why I keep talking to you"

"Sometimes I wonder that too. I'm irresistible, can't help it"

"You are a dick" said Jeremy looking at the man with full disappointment. There were times he admired and maybe even respected Damon, but those times… weren't that many.

"Wait" Damon called after him, throwing his bottle in the lake.

* * *

"You said what to him?" yelled Stefan, back at the Salvatore boarding house.

It was later that day when Damon decided to tell his brother what he did.

"Relax Stefan, I did worst things in my life"

"That is true, but let us not recall those things" turned Stefan, having a drink from his brother's bourbon stash. "Can you tell me how am I going to explain this to Elena?"

"Don't worry I'll do it, with pleasure"

"Why did you have to do that? Why did you have to promise!" Stefan continued moaning.

"I was drunk Stefan! I do stupid things when I'm drunk! You know that!" said Damon throwing his hands back, enjoying the moment of his brother's paranoia.

"I'm glad you enjoy yourself. How do you think Elena will react to you getting custody of her brother. She won't let you!"

"Yes she will. If she wants to keep Jeremy in that house without getting a non-vampire friendly family member snooping around, who let's face it will end up dead anyway. I'm doing her a favor!"

Stefan grabbed his head with both hands and paced around the living room, thinking.

"What do you even want with Jeremy? You don't even like him!"

"That's true. I'll make him suffer" Damon laughed. "I am joking Stefan, have a sense of humor. My biological clock went on, what is so weird about that?"

"You don't have a biological clock, you hate kids! You snack on them!"

"That's true as well" Damon laughed, "relax Stefan, I'm only helping out Elena, you know I'd do anything for her, including getting annoying little brother under my guardianship. Speak of the devil"

The door of the Salvatore boarding house opened wide and a furious Elena, followed by a concerned Bonnie ran into the living room, to face the two Salvatore brothers.

"I can explain" said Stefan defensively, trying to keep Elena away from Damon.

"No you can't" said Damon with a smirk.

"Damon, start talking!" yelled Elena, pulling her hair back anxiously.

"Why you people make such a big deal out of everything? I'm only trying to help"

"And by help you mean ruin Jeremy's life"

"How am I ruining his life?" said Damon, getting two steps closer to Elena.

Elena looked over at Bonnie seeking for her help.

"Jeremy is broken Damon, he can't have you screwing up with his life too" said Bonnie nervously.

"Then it's a good thing that I' am not" Damon lowered his voice and took a couple steps closer to Elena, "You need this Elena, it's either that, or you lose Jeremy. He is underage; no court will let you take care of him. Me in the other hand"

"Can't you just compel someone" said Elena wearily, looking at Stefan as her last resort.

"The whole town?" Stefan breathed heavily. "I am afraid he is right"

"I don't want to live in a world where Damon is right!" Elena cried, allowing Stefan to hug her.


	2. Changing Life

Sixteen year old Jeremy Gilbert was lying on top of his bed since morning. He got this bed when he was eight years old and his father decided it was time for him to have his own room, even though the real reason was Elena's constant whining of wanting a space on her own. They went together down at the IKEA and it took them five hours to pick the one they both liked. Jeremy could still feel the splinters from building all the pieces together, same way he still felt empty from the loss of his father. Every corner of this room reminded him of the things they did together, the things they said; the things he taught him and the pieces of what used to be Grandma Gilbert's good china, which they hid behind the bookcase.

Now Jeremy was almost sixteen, his father was dead and it was time for him to move on…

"Jeremy! Are you ready?" came Elena's voice from downstairs.

He wanted more than anything to scream "NO!" like an annoyed child and keep day-dreaming, but now was the time to face reality.

"I'm coming…" he muttered to himself and let the room, without turning back.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked, seeing him coming down the stairs. His face was pale and he looked sick.

"Elena, please don't start" his eyes fell on Stefan, getting a glass of water from the kitchen.

Stefan smiled sympathetically, "your stuff is already in the car. You ready?"

"Yeah" he breathed.

The three of them stepped outside, where Stefan's car had been parked.

"Jeremy you don't have to do this!" said Elena with rising panic in her voice.

"Elena, don't worry. Jeremy will be fine, don't forget I live there too" Stefan kissed Elena in the forehead and without giving her time for another panic attack, he pushed gently Jeremy to the backseat of the car.

"The moment he treats you bad, you come to me! Promise?" Elena cried in his ear while hugging her baby brother

"I promise" said the boy, trying to keep his voice still.

"You sure, you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yes, Elena. I'm sure, I'll call you later" Jeremy kissed his sister and slammed the door, waiting for Stefan.

* * *

The drive from the Gilbert household to the Salvatore boarding house was a little more than awkward. Stefan, who obviously didn't approve of his brother's decision to get Jeremy, was driving in silence, turning back to the boy from time to time, only to breath heavily and narrow his eyes in a disapproval way. Jeremy kept staring out the window, trying to ignore the nerves that made his stomach twist. He did not want to live with Damon; in fact, he had absolutely no intention of seeing Damon ever again. How did he get in this mess?

When the car arrived at the Salvatore property, Jeremy opened the door and jumped outside in the fresh air, trying to get far away as possible from Stefan and his judgy looks. He grabbed his stuff from the trunk and knocked on the front door. There was no answer for a few minutes, so he decided to knock again. Stefan came his way and pushed the door open.

"We don't lock" he explained, helping the boy with his suitcases.

"Must be good being a vampire then" commented Jeremy, getting inside the hallway.

Stefan smiled, "I would rather lock"

"Hello, hello, hello, welcome" came Damon's irritating voice from the living room.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at the _warm_ welcoming but kept quiet.

"Oh come on Stef, cheer up, we have a new roommate!" Damon said playfully, indicating his brother's moody face. "It could be like college all over again! Three bachelors living the easy… undead… seeing dead… life"

Stefan crossed his arms while shaking his head "I'm so glad you find this amusing, Damon, but if something happens to Jeremy, you are going to be the one held responsible"

"Can you stop talking like I'm not around?" said Jeremy annoyed, earning himself a weird look from Stefan.

"Will you quit being such a downer, brother?" Damon used his vampire speed to approach Jeremy; he threw an arm around the boy's shoulder and friendly patted his back, eyes darted on Stefan "nothing is going to happen to Jeremy"

Stefan narrowed his eyes in disbelief and turned around to Jeremy "Elena is expecting a call from you" he said before heading upstairs.

"And now he is going to write on his 'dear diary' about how mean and irresponsible I'm" whispered Damon conspiratorially in Jeremy's ear, the moment Stefan shut his bedroom door.

"Yeah…" said Jeremy awkwardly, "my sister does that too…"

"I always knew Stefan had the brains of a teenage girl!" said Damon, enjoying each and every one of his words.

Watching Damon pour himself another drink, Jeremy felt the need to make himself scarce, "Where am I going to sleep?" he asked, trying to get his stuff up the stairs. Of course he knew he could ask Damon to help him, but that would make him seem weak and that was the last thing he wanted… especially from day one.

"There are seven bedrooms in this house. I trust even _you_ can find one" said Damon amused by the boy's stubbornness to get the suitcases up by himself

"Why can't I stay at my house again? This place is like a museum"

"Because last time I checked your house is an Original hang out"

"Let's not start on whose fault is that" said Jeremy in a mocking tone, finally making it to the top.

The room he picked was the last on the floor. He wanted to have nothing to do with Stefan or Damon; in fact, if possible he would lock himself in his new room for the rest of his life. Of course he did appreciate Damon's invitation to live in his house in order to keep him safe, but he couldn't stop feeling awkward for having to live in a new house, around almost strangers who also both happened to like his sister.

His new room was big. A lot bigger than the one he grew up into, but it was soulless and cold. He sat there at the door just looking at it, imagining what his new life would be. "Two more years until college, if I manage to survive" he thought to himself and closed the door behind him.


	3. Get used to it

Jeremy spent the rest of his day redecorating his new room. He filled the walls with posters of his favorite bands, placed family pictures on the nightstand, threw his clothes in the messy wardrobe, hid his porn stash in the sock drawer and finally replaced all the Salvatore classics with the 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' series. When the room got the expected teenage vibe, Jeremy lay down and turned on his IPod, getting lost in his own thoughts.

"I live with vampire Damon Salvatore who also happens to be my guardian" he thought to himself while staring blankly at the high ceiling. Alaric was supposed to be his guardian, he promised to take care of him… but he lied like everybody else in his life. His parents lied, Anna, Vicky, his aunt, everybody he ever trusted, betrayed him. They left him alone with nothing but memories and pain. And now on top of all his problems he had Damon.

Jeremy rolled over onto his stomach and almost managed to fall asleep when Elena stormed in his room making him jump up.

"Didn't you learn to knock?" he yelled taking off his headphones.

"You said you'd call!" she barked at him.

"_Shit_, sorry… I was busy" said Jeremy in a rush, "what are you doing here? Don't say you came all this way for me"

"No" Elena admitted.

"But that is non of your business " Damon walked in the room and stood behind Elena. His eyes fixed on a 'Green day' poster. "I see you made quite the change in here…"

"What do you mean it's non of my business?" Jeremy snapped.

"Jer… we brought you here so you be safe" squealed Elena.

"So?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "So, you are not getting mixed up with our evil-vampire-master plans".

Jeremy felt a sudden wave of unexpected rage towards Damon. "I did everything you asked me in the past! I've proved my capability by helping you!"

"Jer…" cried Elena but Damon cut her off.

"You stay up here or you grounded" he pointed a threatening finger at Jeremy.

The boy raised his eyebrows before bursting into laughter. His laugh was cut short as seeing both Damon and his sister kept a serious expression on their faces.

"What, are you for real?"

"Get used to it" smirked Damon, gently pushing Elena out in the corridor before slamming the door, leaving Jeremy alone in the room.

Jeremy sat there, white-faced and furious, staring blurry-eyed at the door, hardly able to believe what just happened. He felt anger pumping in his blood. Since when did Damon had the right to bossy him around and threaten him? No! He was not a child and he would not tolerate being treated like one! Especially from Damon! Without even thinking of the consequences, Jeremy opened the door roughly and went downstairs. Soon he heard the voices of Matt and Caroline chating from the living room.

Seeing as everybody where gathered in the lounge, Jeremy felt twice as left out and mad. He walked on the hallway with full intention of ragging on Damon in front of everyone, when the curiosity took the best of him. Nobody knew he could listen, so he pressed his ear against the wall and waited.

Matt was teasing Caroline about something that he was not remotely interested in. Bonnie was going through some of her books, while Stefan argued with Damon as Elena was trying to compromise them.

"Do we know where Katherine is?" he heard Caroline say.

Silence fell suddenly in the room. Jeremy leaned closer to the wall only to hear in full volume Damon's voice coming from behind him, "lost something?" he said giving the boy a light smack on the back of the head.

"Hey!" Jeremy protested facing the man.

"Didn't I make myself clear ten minutes ago?"

"I don't care what you say! You are not the boss of me!"

"I beg to defer" Damon smirked. "You" he said snapping his fingers toward Matt, "you are on babysitting duty, get Jeremy upstairs"

Matt got quickly on his feet and without complaining he approached the vampire and the young boy. He grabbed Jeremy from his shirt and propelled him on the way of the wooden staircase.

"That's not fair!" Jeremy yelled trying to free himself from Matt's firm grip.

"And make sure you keep him there" said Damon, striding past Jeremy as though he was a hat stand.

"THAT IS NOT FAIR!" Jeremy yelled once again, but Damon had already returned to the living room with the others.

"Come on, Jer" said Matt quietly trying ease the boy.

* * *

Jeremy let Matt in his room and slammed the door so hard that it almost broke.

"How are you doing, Jer?" asked Matt carefully.

"Great! Never been better!" hissed Jeremy, "who does he think he is?"

"Your… guardian…?" guessed Matt.

"Oh please! It's not that he cares! He only wants to torture me!"

"I don't think so…"

"I do! Because he is a first class DICK" Jeremy yelled to the door, making sure Damon could hear him.

"Jeremy, I think you are overreacting, he is only trying to help you" said Matt, calmly.

"Why are you taking his side?" Jeremy snapped.

"I'm not taking his side!" rushed Matt in a defensive tone, "I'm with you!"

"Then start acting like it!"

"I'm acting like it. You are safe here; you don't have to get mixed up in his plans anymore"

Jeremy took a moment to think.

"But… I can help… I did it so many times… I'm not a scared kid! I'm not a coward!"

"Just because you don't put yourself in danger, doesn't mean you are a coward. It means you have people who care about your life" said Matt choosing his words very carefully.

Jeremy looked at Matt's face full of grief, "alright… but Damon is still a dick"

"Absolutely" Matt agreed without hesitation and turned on the screen of Jeremy's computer

* * *

Jeremy went downstairs to kiss Elena goodbye, followed by Matt. Once everybody left the house, Jeremy took a minute to look around the living room, where Damon enjoyed his drink. He narrowed his eyes trying to remember the last time he saw Damon without a glass of bourbon in his hands, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Especially after the day of Alaric's death, it seemed like Damon was trying to consume enough alcohol for both of them.

"I think you drink too much…" he couldn't help but say it.

Damon turned his head to look at the boy, but Jeremy was already gone.


	4. First Day

Next morning, Jeremy woke up to the sound of his alarm. Half asleep he turned it off and rolled over continuing his rest, sure that his sister would wake him up when it was time for school. His sister? Elena? He did not live with Elena anymore… where _did_ he live? Jeremy opened his eyes terrified; he sat up looking momentarily confused at the walls surrounding him. Damon… guardian… right. Everything came rushing back to him. Oh hell! He fell down on his pillow and tried to suffocate himself with the blanket, but as that surprisingly didn't work, he rolled out of bed and walked all the way to the bathroom.

Jeremy got dressed and full of regret and second thoughts crept downstairs, hoping that Damon would still be asleep.

Tasty smells were coming from the side of the kitchen, making Jeremy frown; there was another person in the house. He moved quickly and peered into the door way to see who was inside, only to find Damon in an apron, cooking something that seemed a lot like pancakes.

"Good morning! First day of school" he announced cheerfully, eyes fixed on the pancakes that were burning up.

Jeremy narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

"I made breakfast" said Damon with a smirk of pride. "Sit" he pointed a chair at the counter.

"Who's dead?" Jeremy asked without moving a muscle, his heart racing.

Damon raised his eyebrows while looking at the boy, he seemed unusually sober. "Nobody… why?"

"You are only nice to me when somebody is dead" Jeremy pointed out.

"That's just a happy coincidence, now sit down"

Jeremy obeyed, taking a sit by the counter but still not letting Damon off his sight. Maybe that was all a big, well planned trap to somehow kill him.

Stefan walked in the kitchen, probably drawn in by the smell of the half burned but still delicious pancakes; he looked as surprised as Jeremy did when he first saw the picture of Damon cooking.

"What happened?" he asked, looking around the kitchen for a sign of a dead body.

"Absolutely nothing is going on! Nobody is dead!" replied Damon a tiny bit annoyed.

"Then why are you playing housewife?" Stefan crossed his arms, exchanging looks with Jeremy.

"Very funny" Damon hissed looking back at his brother.

Stefan smiled sarcastically and took a sit next to Jeremy, as Damon threw a well-burned pancake on his plate.

"That looks… great" teased Stefan, trying to find a non burned spot on his pancake.

"Yeah…" Jeremy agreed, trying to identify the smell of poison in his breakfast. "You didn't poison it, did you?" he asked Damon at last.

Damon rolled his eyes, "no, but I will next time, if you both don't stop looking at them like that!"

"It's weird that you guys can eat" said Jeremy conversationally, taking a bite from his pancake that didn't taste half as bad as he expected.

Stefan shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean, why you don't eat blood from breakfast?" continued Jeremy.

"You offering?" Damon teased the boy, leaning in front of the counter to show off his fangs.

"No… not really" Jeremy muttered almost falling off his chair.

* * *

After finishing breakfast, Stefan and Jeremy got inside the car and together they drove to school.

"That was…" started Jeremy, trying to find the right word to describe Damon's previous behavior.

"Weird" Stefan agreed.

"Is he always like that?"

"Happy? No…" Stefan was about to share his fears about Damon's irrational and untrustworthy behavior, but finally he decided there was no reason for him to scare the boy, who for once looked comfortable around him. "I guess he is excited about having you around"

Jeremy shook his head, as though trying to chase that thought away. "No, that's not it"

Stefan drove through the school's parking lot and parked his car next to Elena's. He saw her sitting at a bench near by, in the company of Caroline and Bonnie as usual.

"Don't worry about it" he turned to Jeremy before walking outside.

Jeremy grabbed his backpack from the next sit and followed Stefan. He waved 'hello' to his sister from afar but had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near her for the rest of the day, trying his best to avoid the same old questions and worries.

First day of school didn't sound as bad when he woke up that morning, but as the day went by he felt a heavy weight crushing down on his chest, making him moody and frown at everybody. The biggest challenge of the day came on his second period, when Jeremy walked in the history class; the place he met Alaric for a very first time. Now on his desk was settled a stranger; an obnoxious old man, with a wrinkly face, who glared absent-mindedly at the students passing in front on him.

Jeremy walked to the end of the class, getting far away as possible from the new teacher.

"You" he pointed his finger at Jeremy before the boy got the chance to sit, "you, come sit up front, you smell like trouble"

Jeremy grimaced but kept his tongue short, not feeling particularly in mood to spend the rest of his first week back to school, in detention. He silently pulled a chair on the front desk and sat down with his eyes darted on the floor.

"Mr. Arnold Bell" the man wrote on the blackboard and Jeremy sighed.

* * *

By the end of last period, Jeremy felt drained. He walked outside and sat on the nearest bench. He saw some of his old friends hanging out in the stoner pit, but that wasn't his deal anymore. Matt was playing basketball a little farther but he was with Tyler and they looked pretty busy to be bothered, so he kept sitting alone, waiting for Stefan to give him a lift back home. He couldn't wait to lock himself in his room, away from all these people around him.

"I should really compel you some friends" he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.

He felt a sudden dim of relief when he turned his head to face Damon.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" he said, trying to sound annoyed.

"And miss my kid's first day of school?" Damon said sarcastically.

Jeremy rolled his eyes but was too tired to say anything.

"Come on, I'll get you home" said Damon tapping the bench.

"What about Stefan?"

"He already left two hours ago with Elena"

Jeremy couldn't help but feel like a complete idiot for spending twenty whole minutes on waiting for someone that already bailed. He got on his feet and kicking anxiously the grass, followed Damon to his car.


	5. Bad Choices

"How did school go? Did you learn something useful?" asked Damon with a small smile, as he was pulling off the school grounds.

"No" said Jeremy at once, shifting is shoulders uncomfortably.

"Got to love public education" Damon smirked and withdrew his gaze from the boy, "you look bumped, what happened?"

"Do you care?" said Jeremy heavily, peering outside the window.

"No, I just don't particularly feel like living with Mr. Cranky pants for the next two years, I already have Stefan for that"

Jeremy smiled at the comment but still didn't feel like talking about it. "It doesn't matter, its nothing" he muttered, eyes turned to the window. "Umm you lost the exit, home is the other way"

"Who said we are going home?"

"_You_ did!" bellowed Jeremy, and Damon was pleased to hear a definite note of panic in Jeremy's voice.

"My bad" Damon laughed.

"Where are we going?" Jeremy asked, trying to sound calm.

"Surprise… don't get too excited though, it's not a big one"

"Great…" shrugged Jeremy. Truth to be told the boy was not afraid or nervous about being around Damon all by himself. There were times he actually admired that guy, but he couldn't stop feeling a light, dim of concern as Damon was in charge of his life.

The car stopped almost right away, in front of a building that Jeremy knew all too well. He took his head off the window to make sure he wasn't mistaken. "The Grill?" he grinned.

"What did you expect? Disneyland?"

"Not the Grill…" Jeremy admitted. He had something more exciting and painful in his mind. Last time he got with Damon in the car with a surprise destination, he ended up finding the father of all Original vampires. "What are we doing here?" he asked as Damon forced him out of the car and propelled him on the way to the front door.

"Socializing you" said Damon getting inside the Grill.

"Socializing me?" Jeremy repeated stupidly, "I don't need this"

The boy was about to leave when Damon grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down in a table near the bar. "You can't spend the rest of your life in that room Jer. Alaric is dead, nothing we can do about it. Pity party is over"

"But…" Jeremy trembled.

"No, buts. You are a kid, Jer. Be a kid. Make friends, have fun" said Damon with his eyes fixed at Jeremy's.

The boy grimaced, "you are not going to compel anyone… right?"

"Nah, even though it would make everything so much easier and faster" he laughed "but if that Tyler kid managed to make friends, I trust you can"

Jeremy let out a snort of laughter as a young waitress approached the table. Jeremy knew that girl; it was Kylie from his history class. He shrugged his head down, awkwardly trying to hide his face, he did not wanted to be seen with creepy-guardian-Damon.

Damon raised his eyebrows at the discovery; he got up and disappeared into the corridor, leaving Jeremy alone, to place the order.

Kylie smiled once she recognized Jeremy and came closer, holding a tray.

"Hi" she said cheerfully, "I know you, right? You are Jeremy Gilbert from my history class"

Jeremy blinked twice; he couldn't believe a girl like that would ever remember his name, or his existence. "Umm yeah" he said awkwardly.

"I'm Kylie Atkins" she shook his hand.

"I… I know" Jeremy trembled.

Kylie smiled even wider, "so…" she said looking at her tray, "what can I get you?"

"Oh, right… umm a coke would be fine"

"What about your father?" she asked politely, indicating the bathroom.

"My father?" Jeremy asked confused, "oh you mean…. Yeah…He is _not_ my father"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, anyway, he will have… bourbon"

"I'll be right back" Kylie squealed, heading to the bar.

Damon came back several minutes later; he sat back at his chair, holding his glass of bourbon.

"I hoped you left" said Jeremy with a plain smile. "You heard everything, didn't you?"

"Oh I did" Damon said with a hint of a smile.

Jeremy laughed. He hasn't done that in a very long time, just sit somewhere and have actual fun. Of course he never would expect to have fun with Damon, but life –especially his– was always full of painful surprises.

* * *

Coming back home after a few hours, Jeremy was about to go to his room, when a sudden thought got through his head. He turned around and followed Damon in the living room. He stood by the threshold and looked around for a sign of Stefan, but he was probably still at Elena's enjoying the house they had to themselves.

"Damon?" he asked for the man's attention, "why did you do this?"

Damon raised his eyebrows, "did what?"

"Help me"

"Isn't that what guardians are supposed to do?" Damon smirked sarcastically, pouring himself a drink. "I told you, I don't want another grumpy-downer-Stefan in the house"

Jeremy stood quiet.

"You know, it's sad" he said in a low, serious voice, avoiding Damon's eyes.

"What's sad?" asked Damon confused.

"You" Jeremy's eyes were dark, filled with rage, "Elena chose Stefan, get over it! Did you really think that by getting my custody, by helping me and by pretending to actually care about me, would make Elena like you better?"

"Jeremy…" Damon started calmly.

"Newsflash, she likes Stefan!" Jeremy interrupted, "so save your time, you don't have to pretend anymore!"

"Jeremy, careful…" said Damon, a vain throbbing in his temple.

"Truth huts. Doesn't it?" Jeremy provoked him.

"It's not the truth" Damon said in a loud whisper, trying to manage his anger.

"Then what is? Why are you being nice to me?" Jeremy yelled feeling, tears of rage falling down his face.

"Is that a crime?" Damon downed his drink in one gulp, "I'm sorry I wasn't aware of it!"

"Tell me! What's the catch? Are you trying to be Stefan? So maybe Elena will consider dating you? You are so jealous of Stefan that you would do _anything_ to be with her!"

It was pretty obvious that Damon had enough, but Jeremy was in such an overload he didn't even consider shutting his mouth. He just kept blurting out things.

"So, fuck you Damon! Fuck you and your fake worries and fuck those!" Jeremy yelled kicking down the little end table by the couch, where Damon usually kept his favorite bottles of bourbon.

Everything happened so fast, as the bottles met the floor, in a chorus of shattering glass, Jeremy crashed back on the wall with a growing bruise on his left cheek. Damon was standing over him with his hand still raised. It took him a few seconds to realize what just happened. There was nothing he could say. His head was about to explode from all the emotions and thoughts, he felt anger toward Damon but at the same time embarrassed, for the impulsive way he acted. Astonished, he pressed his hand against the bruise on his face; he never felt this kind of rage in his life.

"Jer…" he heard Damon say.

He immediately stood up, not wanting to listen anything that man had to say, and ran upstairs to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.


	6. Reasoning

Damon was walking up and down the living room over and over and over again, trying to organize his thoughts. He could hear Jeremy messing up his bedroom, gathering his stuff, getting ready to leave. He couldn't let him leave. He promised to Alaric to take care of the boy. How could Alaric ever trust _him_ with Jeremy? He was a vampire and a dick, as Jeremy would say. How could Alaric ever trust him with the one person he cared about?

"You are an idiot" Damon pointed to the ceiling, with crushing guilt as every time he mentioned Alaric. He was a vampire, not a babysitter, he was not supposed to feel the guilt of letting down his friend, but he did. He felt everything. And as that wasn't bad enough, the little prick just destroyed his one and only method of burying that guilt.

The front door opened and a cheerful Stefan walked in. He stood on the entranceway, peering carefully inside the living room. "What happened?" he asked, eyes darted on the shattered glass, covering the floor that Damon didn't yet clean.

"Why don't you ask the teenage drama-queen from upstairs?" Damon hissed.

"Jeremy did this?" Stefan stepped down the living room, taking off his leather jacket, "its only day two! What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing!" said Damon truthfully.

Stefan raised his eyebrows, disbelief etched all over his face. "You want me to believe that shy, little Jeremy went crazy, vandalizing _your_ stash and _you_ had nothing to do with it?"

"Exactly" Damon slumped into a chair next to the fireplace, eyes fixed on the jumping flames. "Shy and little… when was the last time you saw him?"

Stefan sighed looking at his brother, "what happened?"

Damon withdrew his gaze from the fire to glare at his brother's annoyingly superior look. "Stop talking" he asked kindly.

* * *

"Go apologize to him" said Stefan directly after Damon explained the whole situation (minus some parts that he didn't think were worth mentioning)

"What for? I didn't do anything" Damon snapped.

Stefan crossed his arms, "you hit him"

"He deserved it"

"Doesn't matter, you didn't have the right" said Stefan in a deadly calm, picking "Master and Margarita" from the coffee table.

"Okay, why don't you go talk to him?" said Damon airily.

Stefan smiled pleasantly behind the cover of "Master and Margarita" that he was now reading. "As much as I would like to help you, wasn't it _you_ who said 'my biological clock went on' when _I_ said this was a bad idea" he said in his favorite 'I told you so' tone. "You were the one who wanted a teenager, he is all yours brother"

"Fine" Damon said coldly, "I'll compel him to forgive me"

"Great parenting skills, you should write a book" said Stefan with sarcasm dripping off his voice.

Damon rolled his eyes, "you got any better ideas?"

"How about talking to him?" he said plainly, not looking up from his book.

"How didn't I think about that?" Damon spat in frustration, searching for a bottle of bourbon only to locate the broken glass, spoiling his expensive wooden floor. "What am I supposed to tell him?"

Stefan threw the book aside and focused on his brother. "I never thought I'd say this, but you do care about him… in your own stupid way"

Damon was about to interrupt when Stefan signed him not to.

"You wouldn't be so mad, if you didn't care about him. Explain that to him, help him understand"

"See, that's why you should be the one to do this! You know kids! I snack on them" hissed Damon.

"Just be honest and you'll do fine" said Stefan, hiding behind the cover of his book for once again.

* * *

Damon walked slowly up the stairs, trying to fit in his mind everything that he wanted to say to Jeremy. What did he want to say? He had no idea… He was not cut out for that, he thought that getting Jeremy's custody would be something easy. He would keep him in the house, safe, without having to care about the kid's feelings, much less to deal with them. But now there he was, trying to find a way to apologize. "No, this is stupid!" he thought to himself half way through the corridor. He turned around and got all the way back to the staircase when he suddenly stopped. Alaric trusted him with Jeremy; he couldn't let him down…again. Alaric would never forgive him if he did.

"Screw you" he said pointing at the ceiling and using his vampire speed, he got into Jeremy's room before he changes up his mind…again.

Jeremy had an open suitcase at his bed, throwing in, fast as possible some of his stuff. His eyes were drained of tears, as a purple bruise covered half the left side of his face. Damon felt his insides lurch with guilt.

"Get out!" Jeremy shouted, as seeing Damon approach.

"We need to talk" he said in a hollow, dead voice.

"I don't care!" the boy barked, closing his half empty suitcase, getting ready to leave.

Damon shut the door and stood in front of it, making sure Jeremy couldn't go anywhere.

"I'm sorry" he said honestly.

"Let me go! I don't care" Jeremy repeated angrily, trying to pass through Damon.

"You were right" said Damon, acting as though he had not heard Jeremy's reply.

The boy pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"You were right about _one_ thing" said Damon with a mysterious wink. "I did get your custody to please someone" he said as though he had read Jeremy's mind.

Jeremy sighed. "Good, now let me go"

"You don't want to know who?" Damon raised his eyebrows, still not moving from the threshold.

Jeremy snorted, "Isn't it obvious?"

"It's not Elena" Damon shook his head.

The kid looked up at Damon, his rage seemed to vanish instantly, "who is it…?" he asked.

Damon stared back at Jeremy, his throat tight. "Alaric"

There was a moment of silence. Jeremy dropped his suitcase, walked to his bed and sat down carefully, feeling confused. "Alaric…" he said with difficulty.

Damon nodded grimly.

"When?" Jeremy asked, dreading the answer.

"Right before he died" said Damon, using a hushed voice.

"Why would he ask _you_?" Jeremy asked, suddenly feeling angry toward his dead guardian. Was that how much he cared about him? Leaving him with Damon of all people? What was he thinking?

Damon raised his hands defeated. "Because he is a delusional, stupid, moron"

"Yes, he is!" Jeremy agreed at once.

They both stayed quiet for a moment, both thinking the same thing, "Alaric was a douche".

"You are lucky though" suddenly Damon said.

"Lucky?" Jeremy scoffed.

"With his logic, he could have asked Klaus" said Damon, winking.

Jeremy let out a snort of laughter. "Or Katherine, lucky me…"

"I seem like a catch now, don't I?" Damon joked, awkwardly rubbing his hands together.

Jeremy placed his head to his knees, his hands gripping his hair.

"He _was_ a moron… he isn't anymore" he said hiding his face so Damon wont see the tears. "He is gone… like… really gone"

Damon felt his stomach twist; fighting the emotions buried deep inside, that were rushing back at him. "Yeah…" he managed to sound strong.

"They are all gone, they all left me" Jeremy continued breathless.

Damon hesitated. He wanted to do something, to help the boy, but he didn't know what. He was heartless, he was supposed to be, it was his nature. He walked toward the boy and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I will… I will _never_ leave you".

Jeremy suddenly looked up at him. "You promise?" he asked in an offhand sort of way.

Damon got down on his knees, getting on the same eye level with the boy. "I swear"

Jeremy stared at the man, he wanted to believe him…he really did. But it was Damon, the guy who once killed him, for no good reason; but at the same time he was the man that saved him. He was his guardian; he was Alaric's friend…

Jeremy nodded awkwardly, while Damon got back on his feet.

"For Alaric?" he asked as Damon waked to the door.

The vampire stopped, he was about to say something but immediately seemed to regret it. At the doorway, Damon turned on his heel, "by the way" he said, "you are grounded"

Jeremy stood up ready to start a fight, "what! You can't do that! What for?" he exclaimed.

"Seriously…what did my bourbon ever do to you?" There was a quiet sort of desperation in his voice.

Jeremy opened his mouth to argue but shut it right away… it was a lost battle.

"Dick" he muttered as Damon shut the door.

"I heard that!" shouted the vampire from the end of the hallway.

"Good!" Jeremy smiled, rushing to unpack his suitcase.


	7. Sick Day

The next morning came sooner than Jeremy expected. His brain felt tired and his body beaten up. He forced himself out of the warm bed covers, stood up feeling sick and still wearing his pajamas slowly went downstairs. He stopped at a mirror in the hallway between the living room and the stairs. His bruise grew overnight and the color changed from light purple to dark green with yellowish shades.

"I got you good, didn't I?" Damon commented, coming from the stairs.

"Yeah… thanks" Jeremy said annoyed, touching it carefully.

Damon took hold of his face and for a second examined the bruise. "It will be okay in a couple days" he said, lightly patting Jeremy's cheek "Until then; you can say you got in a fight. Girls like bad boys, trust me"

Jeremy tried to say something but instead of words a wave of dry, cough came out.

"You okay?" asked Damon feeling his forehead. "You are burning up"

"I guess…"

"Why you are not dressed yet?" Stefan demanded, coming from the kitchen, throwing his backpack over his shoulder, "we are going to be late"

"He is not going anywhere" said Damon, eyeing the boy.

"Why not?" Jeremy tried to sound out.

Stefan took a closer look at Jeremy "should we call Meredith?" he asked pulling the phone out of his jacket.

"I have a cold I'm not dying" said Jeremy annoyed.

Damon and Stefan both ignored him, as Damon said "tell her to come over"

"Okay" Stefan dialed Doctor Fell's number and went outside to make the call.

"I'm fine" Jeremy protested, fighting against the need to pass out. He was in a house full of vampires, he wouldn't allow himself to look weak. He wanted to prove that he was capable of doing things… dangerous things. He wouldn't tolerate being pushed around anymore. He was not a child and he would not be sent to bed for the rest of the day just for some lame fever.

Damon grabbed gently his upper arm and shoved him in the direction of the staircase. "Go to bed, Jer" he said firmly.

"Fine…" he muttered and climbed the stairs with difficulty.

Jeremy threw himself on the bed and blankly stared at the walls around him. Everything was spinning, round and round like a rollercoaster. He tried to focus on the clock in front of him but his eyes felt heavy and kept shutting down, until he finally gave in and fell asleep.

It was an hour later when Jeremy opened one of blurry eye, to the sound of a distant female voice, calling his name softly. He saw Doctor Fell standing over his bed with a friendly grin.

"How are you feeling Jeremy?" she asked carefully, leaning over his chest.

"Great. Not sick. I want school" Jeremy mumbled, trying to get out of bed, but Meredith held him down.

"You can go to school tomorrow" she said soothingly, feeling his forehead.

"No…I'm fine now" Jeremy fight her off, but was too weak to do anything.

"You are fine" she agreed with him in a child-like tone "just skip school for today"

The boy groaned in desperation.

Suddenly Meredith took notice of his bruise, "what happened, Jeremy?"

"Fight… girls…I'm a badass" he moaned angrily, because she wouldn't let him up.

Meredith smiled at him and straighten up. She picked her medical bag from the floor and silently left the room as Jeremy fell asleep for once again. She walked downstairs and entered the kitchen, where Damon made coffee.

"How is he?" he asked, pushing a mug toward Meredith as she made herself comfortable at the counter.

"He'll survive" she said with a plain smile, pulling a little orange, pill container from her bag. "Let him sleep it off and just make sure he takes two of those in the evening"

Damon caught the container and placed it over the fridge.

"Don't have this look" he snapped as Meredith's grin got even wider.

"How are you doing?" she asked conversationally, having a sip from her coffee.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Quite the change you are going through" Meredith said thoughtfully.

"I have no idea what are you talking about" said Damon through gritted teeth and rushed to change the subject as he sensed Meredith's need to pronounce Alaric's name, "don't you have any dying patients to go save?"

* * *

Jeremy woke up hours later. He lay flat on his back, breathing hard. "This is horrible" he thought and rolled on one elbow, searching for something fun to do. He grabbed the first book on top of his nightstand and opened it up. It was his biology book. "Do I even take this class?" he asked himself, looking puzzled. He snapped the book shut and moaned "I'm bored!" hoping that one of the vampires in the house would hear him.

"Finally sleeping beauty is awake" Damon joked as he entered the room only seconds later.

Jeremy raised his eyes to the heavens and fell back on his pillow. He hated this, lying around all day, not being able to do anything, feeling weak and vulnerable. It's been a long time since the last time he was sick, so long that his parents were still alive. He missed those days were Elena would stop being mean to him and run to the nearest comic book store and buy him all the newest entries so he won't feel bored. His father's disgusting, home made chicken soup and his mother's assistance to throw it away without his father noticing.

Jeremy gave a great sigh. "I'm bored" he repeated with dignity.

"Then do something" said Damon, throwing the little pill container right at him.

"Ouch!" Jeremy moaned as the container got him straight in the head. "You want me to….kill myself?" he asked vaguely, examining the amount of pills.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Meredith said you should take two"

"Nah, I'll pass… they bring up bad memories, plus I feel better" said Jeremy disgusted, leaving the container at his nightstand.

Damon crossed his arms, "take them or I'll shove them down your throat"

"I'm sick; you are supposed to be nice to me" said Jeremy brightly.

Damon smiled despite himself, "I thought I was supposed to be nice to you, only when somebody is dead"

"Fine" Jeremy sat up, opened the container and held two of the white, round tablets on his palm, showing them off to Damon before he swallow.

"Good boy"

Damon took the rest of the container and left the room. He returned twenty minutes later, leaning on his door "I got good news" he said with a smirk.

"I just won the new not yet released x-box 720?" Jeremy guessed, without looking up from the biology book he was reading.

"Better, I'm leaving"

Jeremy almost chocked on his tongue, "for real?"

"Don't get so excited, I'll be back in a couple hours"

Jeremy frowned immediately, "then where the hell are the good news?"

"I got you a babysitter" Damon smirked.

Jeremy was about to start complaining when Bonnie showed up behind Damon.

"H…hi…" said Jeremy uncomfortably, his heart pounding in his throat. She looked beautiful as always.

"Hi" she waved at him with a little smile.

"Right…" Damon scoffed, "I'm gonna go. You two play nice"

Bonnie walked carefully near him and sat on his bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, after Damon left the house.

"Good" Jeremy replied, a dreamy look coming over his face. He hasn't spent much time with Bonnie in a long time; he forgot how much he missed her eyes looking at him. It was so warm and familiar that it felt right, every second of it.

"Did _he_ make you come here?" he asked anxiously.

"No" she said at once, "Damon just told me you were sick… I thought you might feel lonely, didn't I do right?"

"No! I mean… yes! You did right, great actually" blurted Jeremy.

They were both staring at each other, lost of words.

"So… huh… how…" Jeremy started.

"What happened to your face?" she squeaked, leaning over his bruise.

"Oh… that…" Jeremy was caught by surprise, "Fight. I got into a fight…I'm pretty badass you know"

Bonnie's eyes were narrowed with suspicion.

"Are you sure _he_ didn't do that to you?"

"You think that _I_ would cover for Damon?" Jeremy managed to sound stricken, "I would _never_ cover for Damon" he said crossing his fingers under his blanket.

"Okay… I'm sorry" said Bonnie, taken aback for a moment.

"It's okay, everything is okay" Jeremy smiled.


	8. Party In The House

For the next few days Damon seemed constantly busy. He would wake up early in the mornings, before Jeremy was up for school and usually when he came home late at night; he looked scary and not to be disturbed. Jeremy rarely bothered him and it was only when he made one of his pathetic attempts to eavesdrop. The dream team: Caroline, Matt, Bonnie and his sister Elena would often gather up in the living room, forcing Jeremy to remain locked up in his room.

When the first weekend came around, Jeremy woke up to the best news he heard ever since he moved at the Salvatore boarding house. He was standing at the threshold, about to go meet with Matt at the Grill, when Damon called him from the living room.

He limped across the entranceway, earning some time to think of excuses, in case Damon found out about the window he broke the other day. Both Damon and Stefan stood near the fireplace with their arms folded, making him feel that he must have done something wrong.

"We need to talk to you" Damon snapped his fingers toward the boy.

Jeremy slumped into a chair next to the fire, with a bored expression on his face.

"I didn't do anything" he lied.

Damon and Stefan looked at one another before announcing "We are leaving for the weekend"

Jeremy gasped, speechless. "Please say you are not joking!"

"We are not joking" said Stefan.

"You are not joking!" he closed his eyes with an uplifted expression on his face, "I want to treasure this moment forever!"

"That went well" said Stefan sarcastically, tapping Damon's shoulder.

"So, you are not afraid to stay alone?" asked Damon, disbelief all over his face.

"Yes, because I'm five" Jeremy scowled. "When are you leaving?" he asked, looking almost painfully excited.

* * *

Elena, Caroline, Matt and Bonnie came in the afternoon, all packed up and ready to go, expect from Matt, who was staying back to keep Jeremy company.

"Okay, you know the drill" said Damon hastily, after he cornered Jeremy in the hallway. "Don't open the door, don't invite anyone in and whatever you do, _don't_ leave the house"

"Yeah" said Jeremy, who was plainly not listening to a word Damon was saying.

"Where is your gun?"

Jeremy pulled up his shirt a couple of inches, to show off the wooden-bullet gun hanging from his belt.

"Good. Shoot first, ask questions later"

"Yeah"

"I asked the sheriff to keep an eye on you. Call me if you need anything"

"Yeaaa" said Jeremy, jerking up his head impatiently.

"Okay…" said Damon uncertain, eyeing the boy with a blank expression on his face, before following Stefan out of te house without as much as a simple "bye"

Elena hugged Jeremy and kissed him on the forehead. "Take care" she said softly, running her fingers over his hair. She hugged him one last time and blew a kiss from the threshold before shutting the door.

"Oh my god… they are finally gone" said Jeremy, holding his head as though trying to prevent it from exploding. He was finally alone…free…to do anything he wanted, without Damon bossing him around and without Stefan's constant, disapproval looks following him all day. He was _free_, at last!

"What do you want to do first?" he heard Matt's voice, pulling him back in the real world.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders quite indifferentlt, he didn't really care; all he wanted was to smell the sweet air of freedom.

"Where is your x-box?" asked Matt, looking around the living room.

"Upstairs" said Jeremy, pointing at the ceiling. "Damon has the only TV in the house"

Matt nodded as they set off toward Damon's room.

Jeremy visited his own room first, pulled the dusted x-box and his favorite games from under the bed and headed to Damon's, where Matt waited for him.

Damon's bedroom was about the same size as the living room. It was a wide open space, with large windows and open curtains. There wasn't much furniture, part from a double bed, a flat screen TV, a wardrobe and few other things that Jeremy was too busy to notice. He plugged the videogame in the TV and sat down on the floor next to Matt. They started off their videogame feast with "Battlefield 3" and soon after moved on to "Call of duty", when a knock on the front door, came from downstairs.

Jeremy pause the game and looked at Matt. They both stood up at once, pulling out their guns.

"I'll go down" Jeremy whispered.

"No!" Matt grabbed him from the shirt, "I'm supposed to keep an eye on you; I'll go"

"I thought you said you were here to hang out!" said Jeremy forgetting to lower his voice.

"Yeah! Absolutely" said Matt, almost defiantly.

Of course Jeremy guessed already the real nature of Matt's decision to stay back and it was way before he heard Damon scolding him about the do's and don'ts of this house. But he had no intention whatsoever of telling Matt about it any time soon; he actually liked to watch the guilt on his face.

"I thought you were my friend" he said, acting hurt.

"I'm your friend" Matt looked dumbstruck.

Jeremy tried his best to hide an evil grin as he walked past Matt to go open the door. Standing on the tiptoes he crept downstairs, his finger fondling the trigger. He wasn't scared. Not really. He survived a whole week living with Damon Salvatore, he got killed four times already and he did most things a typical sixteen year old wouldn't even dream of. He stopped being scared, when he stopped caring about his life.

The person behind the door knocked once more. Matt was on top of the stairs, holding his gun, aiming for the door.

"Who's there?" Jeremy asked steadily.

There was a small pause. The intruder let a sarcastic laugh. "Klaus" said the very familiar voice of Tyler Lockwood.

Jeremy lowered the gun and rolling his eyes, opened the door to find Tyler Lockwood in the flesh, standing in front of him.

"Great" Jeremy hissed, "While I was wondering who is missing from my perfect life"

Tyler let a snort of laughter and brushed Jeremy aside, "I'm here to bail Matt. I heard he is babysitting for the weekend – hi Matt" he said, spotting Matt coming down the stairs.

Jeremy turned instantly pink, still clenching his gun; maybe after all it would come in handy.

"C'mon Matt, let's go" said Tyler briskly, almost hugging the front door.

Matt who was still trying to put away his gun, beckoned, "told you on the phone, I can't"

"You will miss a great party just because baby Gilbert can't stay alone for _one _night?" he scolded.

Jeremy's face got even redder. "You know what? You can go, I won't tell Damon. Matt, it's okay, I don't need you anyway" he said, looking acidly at Tyler as though he was a disgusting cockroach.

"See, he doesn't need you" said Tyler, staring back at Jeremy.

"No, no way" Matt shook his head, "Come on Jer, we have a game to finish"

"Okay, okay! Let's take him with us" Tyler shouted after him, as Matt was already halfway up the staircase.

Matt stopped and turned his head, "he can't leave the house" he pointed at Jeremy.

Tyler stood quiet for a moment. "I have an idea" he said suddenly, nudging Jeremy.

Matt and Jeremy exchanged looks full of meaning. Tyler rarely had any ideas –due to his lack of brains, Jeremy suspected– but usually the ones he had, were _never_ for good.

"If little Gilbert here is under house arrest" Tyler started ignoring the awkward silence, "we will bring the party to him" he finished wrapping an arm around Jeremy in a friend-like sort of way.

"No" said Matt at once.

"Actually…" said Jeremy tentatively, "that is not such a horrible idea"

Matt gazed at him as if Jeremy completely lost his mind. "Damon said –"

"Damon never mentioned anything about a party" Jeremy interrupted, with an innocent smile.

"That's my boy" Tyler patted his shoulder, anticipation all over his face.

Matt crossed his arms over his chest, reminding suddenly very much of Stefan, "Oh really?" he said brightly, "so if I call Damon right now and tell him we are having a party, you think he wont mind"

Jeremy's ironic smile faded off his face. "He won't mind if he doesn't know about it…" he said in a hushed voice, like he was afraid Damon could still hear him.

"I like the way you think Gilbert" Tyler smiled and pulled his mobile out of the back pocket of his jeans.

Matt still had the same concerned look on his face, even when he agreed to do the party. With Tyler's help he texted pretty much every kid in the school, while Jeremy was in charge of the booze. Carefully Jeremy gathered all Damon's precious bottles of bourbon and hid them in the cellar, bringing up instead the beer packs and some of the wine that Damon ignored.

"Damon is going to notice if all his alcohol is missing" said Jeremy worryingly, coming from the cellar, holding the last two bottles of wine.

"You said he never drinks this stuff" said Tyler behind him, straightening the cushions.

"Yeah, but he is not a idiot, he will see them missing and then I'm officially dead"

"Didn't know you were afraid of your guardian, Gilbert" said Tyler sarcastically.

"I'm not!" Jeremy growled. And he absolutely meant it, but still he didn't want to get on Damon's nerves for no good reason.

Tyler let a small smile. "Don't worry, by the time he is back, everything will be replaced, and it will all be like nothing ever happened"

* * *

By the time it was eight, half the students of Mystic high school were crossing the Salvatore property. Jeremy was standing away from the door, avoiding this way to break Damon's first two rules (Don't open the door and don't invite anyone in). He was sitting next to Matt, who looked ashed-faced, clenching hard a bottle of beer without really drinking. That party did not worth all the risk, he couldn't stop thinking.

Tyler, who has been talking to a pack of girls ever since the party started, nodded them goodbye and to Jeremy's great displeasure came and sat right next to him.

"Will you change that constant funeral face you got? This is a party!" he screamed in Jeremy's ear, covering the loud music. "Go talk to people!" Tyler pushed the boy off the couch and moved to be closer to Matt.

Jeremy felt lost. He walked toward the entranceway, striding past all the unfamiliar faces around him. He was about to enter the kitchen when a familiar voice called his name. In surprise, he turned around to face the last person he expected to see there: Kylie Atkins, the girl from his history class. She was standing at the threshold surrounded by a group of girls, all from his high school.

"Oh, hi… come on in" he said in a mild surprise. He and Kylie hardly ever spoke at school, maybe a simple 'hello' every now and then.

She left her friends and got into his personal space with a bright smile on her face. Jeremy felt himself going instantly red. "How… how are you?" he stuttered, realizing that Damon was right, he did need to work on his smooth act.

But Kylie didn't seem to mind his social awkwardness, if anything she thought it was cute. "Good" she laughed, playing with her hair, "nice party. Didn't know you live here"

"Umm yeah thanks… I just moved here" he said while Kylie nodded him to the kitchen were it was more quiet to talk. Jeremy followed her, as she seemed to know pretty well where she was going. They sat next to each other in the counter.

"Why did you move?" she asked casually, picking up a cookie from a bowl in front of her.

Jeremy frowned, "it's a long, weird story"

"I like long, weird stories" she said with a warm smile, taking a bite from the cookie.

Jeremy smiled back, "maybe another time"

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I know how hard it is to move. I just came from Florida"

"Really? How come?"

"It's a long, weird story" she said playfully, her eyes gleaming.

Jeremy laughed, "So, you'll fit just right in here"

Kylie fell silent for a moment. "Wont you get in trouble for this?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly. "That guy you were with, at the Grill"

"Not, if he doesn't find out" said Jeremy, crossing his fingers for good luck, "if he does, I'm afraid, Mr. Bell will have the pleasure to not see me in his class ever again"

"Oh he doesn't hate you _that_ much"

Jeremy gave an involuntary shudder, as the picture of his new history teacher popped in his head. "We agree to disagree"

"So you lied to me, that guy was your father" she said.

"No… he…he is" Jeremy paused for a second. How could he ever explain what was Damon to him, "he is… my guardian" he said at last.

"Kind of like a father" Kylie said at once.

"No…whatever" Jeremy muttered, unable to restrain himself.

Kylie was about to say something when the kitchen entered Sheriff Forbes.


	9. Busted (Part One)

Jeremy almost fell off his chair, "Sheriff?" he gasped, as he saw Sheriff Forbes approaching.

The sheriff didn't look happy…at all, but the word 'mad' wasn't exactly the right to describe her either. She walked to the counter, her arms placed around her waist.

"I see _somebody_ didn't lose much time" she said flatly, when she reached Jeremy and Kylie.

The boy's heart sank. He never had a party before, he didn't know what were the consequences once you get caught; was she going to tell Damon? Was she going to arrest him? Would Damon have to bail him out of jail?

"Are you going to arrest me…?" he asked at last, in a slightly chocked voice.

The sheriff laughed, gazing at Jeremy who looked ready to throw up. "No. It's not the first teenage party in my career I get to crash, hopefully not the last one"

Jeremy shook his head.

"…are you going to tell Damon?"

"I don't know" said the sheriff, pacing uncomfortably around the kitchen.

Jeremy stood up to face her, "Sheriff, please don't"

"You are putting me in a tough spot here, Jeremy" the sheriff said, scratching her chin. "Damon is my friend and the person responsible for you; I can not lie to him"

"I'm not asking you to lie, Sheriff. What I'm asking you to do is…not mention _this_" Jeremy waved his hands around the mess.

The sheriff didn't look very convinced, so with a tad of shame, Jeremy decided to play his last and most effective card: 'guilt'

"You were a friend of my mother too Sheriff, she wouldn't want you to…"

Liz Forbes fell back a step. She immediately straightened up and narrowed her eyes. Jeremy could almost see her two basic instincts fighting an epic battle against each other inside her head. It was the law enforcement, rules and duties against trust and friendship.

"Jeremy, you have half hour to make sure everybody got home safe" she said firmly, after two minutes of silence.

The moment sheriff was out of ear shot; Jeremy fell back on his chair and turned to Kylie. "That was close" he muttered breathlessly.

"Your father knows the Sheriff?" asked Kylie, who was still sitting next to him, her eyes darted at the door as if she expected Sheriff Forbes to enter again anytime soon.

"Yes and he is _not_ my father"

"You think she is going to tell on you?"

"Nah" Jeremy shook his head, "She knows how low tempered Damon is; if he finds out I'm history"

Kylie shot him an encouraging smile and got up, "I better go then"

Before he had time to realize it, Kylie leaned forward and kissed him fast on the cheek. Throwing her long hair back she waved him 'goodbye'

It was very fortunate that he was already sitting because he wasn't sure the loose spaghetti he had instead of feet right now would be able to hold him up.

"There you are! The Sheriff was here! Did you see her?" Matt barked at him, coming inside the kitchen.

Jeremy looked up at him as if for a first time in his life. "What?" he muttered confused.

"THE SHERIFF WAS HERE!" Matt yelled in his ear making him jump up.

"Shit, the Sheriff! She gave us half hour to end this"

"She talked to you?"

"Yea…" Jeremy shrugged, "I don't think she will tell Damon" he added placidly.

"Wish I could share your confidence" said Matt, slightly relieved.

* * *

When the last guest left the house, the three boys sat down on the floor (since the couches were all turned upside down against the walls) and breathed heavily. Their ears were still buzzing from the loud music and a disgusting smell of urine was coming from somewhere near the fireplace.

"We are dead meat" Matt whispered in a tone of mock sorrow, having a drink from a half empty cup.

"We are going to clean this up" said Jeremy determinedly, scanning the room for a fast damage control. It was worst than he expected, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little time and effort.

"He is going to find out" Matt continued, throwing away his cup, aiming for the armor statue in front of them that some kids managed to move all the way from the study room of the house.

"And how exactly is he going to find out?" said Tyler annoyed.

"It's Damon"

"He is a vampire not a psychic!"

"Right" Jeremy agreed with Tyler despite himself, "It's not like he can compel the truth out of us. You are a Hybrid" he pointed at Tyler, "and we are on vervain"

"So, as long as we all keep our mouths shut, nobody gets hurt" Tyler added, looking pointedly at Matt.

"Alright, fine" Matt held up his hands in defeat, "we should start cleaning"

"Eh…now?" Tyler yawned. "They are not coming until noon"

Matt's face went pale all of the sudden, "Jeremy, did Damon tell you what time they will be back?"

Jeremy thought hard for a second.

"Not really"

"Call him"

Tyler winced, "If he calls Damon at this time, he will know something is wrong"

"Fair point" Matt nodded, "call Elena"

"No, no way. She knows I would never call to ask anything" Jeremy got up and started anxiously gathering the empty cups from the coffee table. "Tyler, should call Caroline"

"Or maybe you should call Bonnie" Tyler shot right back at him.

"Okay, both of you shut up!" Matt got in the middle as Tyler and Jeremy were staring daggers at each other. "I'll call Caroline…tomorrow"

* * *

Tyler came back early the next morning, holding at least a dozen beer cases to replace with the ones in the Salvatore cellar. Having too much work on their hands, Matt volunteered to clean the kitchen and hallway area; Tyler got stuck cleaning up the living room, while Jeremy was in charge of putting everything back into place, having no doubt Damon would notice anything looking out order.

Sooner than they expected the house was almost ready. The ceiling was food-free and clean as always, while leftovers, empty bottles, canes and all the evidence of a great party, gathered in body bags about to get disposed in a dumpster two miles away. Everything seemed perfect. Part from the smell of stale beer and smoke, Matt had been fighting against for the past hour with only weapon, a bottle of cologne.

"Oh shit!" Jeremy's voice came from upstairs.

Matt threw aside the cologne and rushed upstairs, "What?" he ran into Damon's room. "What happened?"

Jeremy had been standing over Damon's favorite, red, Persian carpet with his hands over his head. "Somebody stained the carpet" he whispered in horror.

Matt let out a relieved laugh, "that's it? I thought something serious happened"

"Don't laugh!" Jeremy snapped, hitting himself in the forehead with his fist. "When he sees this, game over! He is going to skin me!"

"Big deal, you stained a carpet. Why would he care?"

"In case you haven't noticed, he is crazy" Jeremy hissed, "The other day he freaked out over a toothpaste stain I left on the sink!"

"You have two hours to clean whatever you want to clean" said Tyler, leaning over the door, still holding his mobile. "They are on their way"

* * *

Having got rid of the carpet in the storage room and replaced it with a new, clean one, which sort of looked like the previous, Jeremy, Matt and Tyler gathered in the living room, waiting for the Salvatores to come back.

"Something is wrong" Jeremy muttered, scanning the room for one last time.

"Nothing is wrong, this house is spotless. Even I would believe there never was a party in here" said Tyler flatly.

"Exactly! It's too clean…" Jeremy ran quickly upstairs to his room and returned almost immediately holding a few comic books, his sketch book and his PS3.

"Now it's normal" he said satisfied, throwing his stuff around.

"Uh-Oh, they're here" said Matt in a hushed voice, staring pointedly at the window, where they could see Stefan's car coming through the driveway. The three of them exchanged dark looks, as they heard footsteps on the garden path and soon after the sound of the door creaking open.

Jeremy swept over to the front door, trying his best to look casual and innocent.

"Hey!" he greeted, as Stefan was first to come through the door, his voice much higher than usual.

Damon stopped at the threshold and looked around suspiciously.

'_Oh shit, he knows'_ a little voice screamed inside Jeremy's head. "How was the trip? How many innocents did you kill?" his insides squired as he spoke.

Damon slowly moved forward, eyes darted on the boy. "What did you do?" he gave Jeremy's shoulder a rather hard squeeze.

Jeremy gulped.

"Nothing"

Damon seized the boy's upper arm and marched him off, across the hallway. He pushed him down the little step and propelled him on the way to the sunken living room.

Stefan shut the front door and started after them for a few seconds with a bored expression on his face, "home sweet home".


	10. Busted (Part Two)

The atmosphere inside the Salvatore boarding house was extremely tense. Jeremy, Matt and Tyler, all with the same frozen look of denial in their faces, were squeezed on the same couch, while Damon was walking round them, like a shark cornering his victims.

"You have three seconds to come clean" said Damon in a voice of forced calm.

Jeremy looked pleading at Stefan, but he didn't say anything. Stefan chose wisely to stay away from the interrogation and just stood by the window, making sure his brother won't murder anyone.

"We didn't do anything. Okay?" said Tyler almost defiantly and launched himself out of the couch.

Damon didn't look impressed. He pushed him back with the tip of his finger and sat on the coffee table in front of them, making straight eye contact with the three boys.

"Quarterback!" His gaze fixed upon Matt who returned the look. "Why don't you start?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" said Matt, looking politely puzzled.

Damon smirked and withdrew his gaze from Matt to Tyler. "How about you Mowgli?"

"What he said" said Tyler, jerking his head toward Matt, while looking calmly up into Damon's face.

Damon's grin got wider and slightly more dangerous.

"And who do we have left?" Damon looked around as though he was trying to find something, "Jeremy!"

Jeremy kept his head down, determined to avoid Damon's eyes.

"Come on Jer, let's hear it. What did you do?" said Damon pulling up the boy's chin, forcing him in a direct eye contact.

"Nothing" said Jeremy, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"Okay, I tried!" said Damon in an annoyed but partly amused tone. "You don't appreciate the nice way, now let's get to the torturing part of the evening" his eyes flashed dangerously.

Stefan moved forward, alarmed.

"He is kidding" he got in front of Damon, as Tyler seemed ready to start a fight.

"You have no right to keep us here. We did nothing wrong!" Tyler barked at Damon.

Damon ignored him; instead he stared at Jeremy who felt his stomach drop.

"Jeremy, I know you did something stupid. I can see it in your face"

"That is such an unfounded accusation!" Tyler hissed and found chance in the one moment Damon wasn't looking, to kick Jeremy in the leg.

Jeremy bit his lip to keep himself from growling.

"This is ridiculous" Tyler stood up for a second time, "you don't have proof and I'm not afraid of you"

Both Matt and Jeremy admired Tyler's straightforward tactic but unfortunately it was obvious that Damon wasn't buying it. He was almsot 200 years old, he met good liars before.

Damon's face broke into an evil grin. He walked slowly to his little end table by the couch and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He held the glass for a few seconds and smelled the alcohol before taking a sip, his face now looking calm. Nobody in the room was breathing.

"Sit down before I rip out your spleen" he said in his most dangerous voice.

Matt grabbed Tyler's arm and pulled him down, next to him.

Damon smiled satisfied and took one more sip from his glass.

"We had a party" said the slightly chocked voice of Jeremy Gilbert.

All eyes turned on the boy.

"What did you say?" said Stefan, sure that he must have heard wrong.

"We had a party" Jeremy repeated steadily, abandoning all pretence.

Stefan placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Tyler barked at the boy. He looked furious, but Jeremy didn't care. Damon would find out sooner or later, he knew that admitting the crime was the only way for them to end this. He shot a furtive look on Damon, who seemed strangely taken aback as if he did not see that coming. No, a party was definitely not what Damon had in mind.

Damon finished his drink in one last gulp and using his vampire speed to approach the boys, he seized Jeremy by the back of his shirt and pulled him away from Tyler, who was about to punch him.

"Okay" said Damon grimly, "You two, out" he indicated Matt and Tyler.

The two of them exchanged a weird look of disbelief.

Tyler got quickly on his feet and waited for Matt who didn't move a muscle. Matt stared at Damon confused.

"You are letting us go?" he asked.

"Yeap"

"Damon, it's not his fault" Matt started earnestly. "It was my idea. Jeremy had nothing to do with the party…."

Once Jeremy realized what Matt was trying to do, he rushed to get in front of Damon. "Don't believe him! He was the one that didn't want to have the party in the first place. I started it"

"We all did it, he can't take the blame by himself" Matt continued, ignoring Jeremy's attempts to shut him up.

For once again, Damon didn't look impressed.

"If you two girls are done, I would still like you out of my house" he said shortly.

Matt glanced sideways at Jeremy, before following Tyler toward the exit.

Damon stared after them, wearing a look of deep skepticism.

"You, not so fast" he shot at Jeremy, who made an attempt to pass through the hidden back door, behind the bookshelves.

Damon turned around and sat on the coffee table. He motioned for Jeremy to sit down opposite him. The boy obeyed and retreated to the couch with a great sigh.

"_You_ had a party" said Damon, who looked remarkably calm.

"Yes" Jeremy replied lazily, having already accepted his dark fate.

"A real party?" Damon asked leaning closer toward the boy, his eyes flashing.

"Yes…" Jeremy decided that if he managed to survive with only a couple broken ribs and a few bruises, he would still consider himself lucky.

"A party with people?" Damon continued in the same confused tone.

"Yes…" said Jeremy, looking around him, asking for Stefan's help who was more than unwilling.

"And people came?" this time Damon's voice sounded stricken.

"Yes!" said Jeremy almost irritably, couldn't he just kill him already?

Damon said nothing for almost a minute, just glaring at the boy. At last he leaned over him and grabbed his face with both hands. For a wild moment, Jeremy thought he was going to snap his neck. But instead…

"My boy!" Damon shouted excitedly, letting hold of him.

Jeremy had to think for a moment before he realized what Damon was talking about.

"You…you…are not mad?" Jeremy asked carefully.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" he ruffled the boy's hair.

Jeremy gasped speechless at the man in front of him. That wasn't Damon! The real Damon would have snapped his neck even at the word 'party'. The real Damon would turn his life into living hell. What did they do with the real Damon?

"Why would you be mad?" Stefan interrupted, talking over his brother.

Unlike Damon, Stefan looked furious about Jeremy's little party. "He had a party!" he said as if Jeremy had just committed the most outrageous and disgusting crime in the history of humanity.

Damon raised his eyebrows at his brother's tone. "A party Stefan, not a murder"

"I can't believe you are so irresponsible! He!" Stefan pointed a threatening finger indicating Jeremy, eyes darted on Damon "could have been killed"

Jeremy got slowly on his feet and tried to get far away as possible from the two brothers, not feeling particularly in mood to witness their fight.

"He is sixteen, Stefan! Sixteen year olds do parties to have _fun_. A foreign word to you, I'm sure!" Damon hissed back, searching the room for a stake, a dagger or simply a piece of wood he could throw at his brother.

"Where do you think you are going? You are not done!" Stefan shouted at Jeremy as the boy finally reached the corridor.

Jeremy wheeled around and got himself back in the battlefield. He chose to stand next to Damon, having realized he was less dangerous at the moment.

Stefan ignored Damon's comment and continued in the same self-righteous tone. "They could all get killed! Who knows how many vampires he invited in! Who knows how many vampires have access to this house right now!"

"I didn't invite anyone in!" Jeremy defended himself.

"Are you sure?" asked Damon, his eyes upon Jeremy's face.

The boy thought hard for a second.

"Yes" he said at last. "I was away from the door all night. No vampire entered the house"

"It doesn't matter!" Stefan yelled. "What matters is that you put everybody in great danger!"

"Fine Stefan. We get it, he did a mistake! What do you want me to do? Ground him?" said Damon sarcastically.

Stefan crossed his arms. "He is already grounded" he pointed out, "three times this week, you can't even do that right"

Damon glanced sideways at Jeremy. The boy shrugged.

"How do you suggest I punish him? He doesn't do anything fun anyway"

Jeremy raised his hand, "how about giving me the privilege to move back to my house, and then take it back again" he suggested.

"Sounds like the perfect punishment!" Damon agreed in a serious-like tone, putting an arm around the boy.

They both stared at Stefan with the same sarcastic smirk.

Stefan's mouth fell open. "You…you…" he stared at Damon, trying to find the right words to describe his rage, "you turned him into…_you_"

Damon's grin got even wider, as he ruffled Jeremy's hair.

"Go upstairs Jeremy"

"Yes, Jeremy it's time for you to go" Stefan agreed, his hands were balled into fists.

Jeremy didn't need to be told twice. Still unable to believe his luck, he left the living room and headed upstairs, feeling Stefan's glare on his back. Once he was gone the two brothers picked up their fight from where they left it.


	11. Trust

It was nearly three o'clock in the morning and Jeremy still lay wide-awake on his bed. He couldn't stop recalling the events of that day. Damon didn't mind his party, he wasn't even mad at him, he didn't care. Stefan was right, he could have been killed. Any vampire could enter the house and murder him at any time, but Damon didn't seem to care about that. He betrayed his trust and he didn't even get mad… not a tiny bit.

Damon didn't want to protect him, the only reason he wouldn't let him get involved in the vampire stuff was because he didn't trust him enough. He never did… much less now that he went behind his back and almost destroyed his house.

Jeremy turned onto his stomach and took a deep, painful breath. He was useless and untrustworthy, Damon was right to treat him the way he did.

When the morning came, Jeremy rolled out of bed, hours before usual. He crept downstairs, trying his best not to wake Damon up and entered the kitchen, putting to work the plan he formed while he was in bed.

By the time Stefan woke up and went to find him, Jeremy was sitting head down, doing the homework he didn't touch all weekend, while, a full breakfast was served on the kitchen counter;

"Mm…I smell guilt" said Stefan pleasantly. "Apology accepted" he helped himself to a plate of omelet.

Jeremy nodded, hardly paying any attention.

Stefan poured himself a cup of coffee. "You're doing homework?"

"Yep"

"Careful, your teachers might not recognize you" Stefan taunted him.

Jeremy kept ignoring him, while shooting furtive looks toward the door, waiting for Damon.

"Elena told me it's your birthday this Friday" said Stefan snapping his fingers in front of Jeremy's face, to get his attention

"Yep" the boy murmured.

Turning officially sixteen was supposed to be one of the most exciting moments of his life. There were so many benefits and privileges to come with that age, like finally getting that driver's license he'd been craving for so long, but right now he couldn't be less excited about it.

"I expect you don't wish for a birthday party" Stefan sneered.

Jeremy shuddered at the word.

"No" he said shortly.

Stefan smiled indulgently.

"Have you thought of a present?"

The boy hesitated, "not really"

That was not entirely true, he had thought of something but after what he did, he could never ask for it.

"What do you think about… a dog?" Stefan suggested, finishing off his breakfast.

Jeremy liked that idea; he did own a dog for a brief amount of time, during his stay in Denver.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to tempt you, feeding on my puppy" he said covering a sardonic smile behind his history essay.

"Damon? How did you get in there?" said Stefan astounded, knocking on Jeremy's forehead.

The boy rubbed his forehead with a satisfied smile.

"Okay, so, no puppy" said Stefan after giving it some thought. "We better go" he looked at the time, as he was disposing his plate in the dishwasher.

Jeremy glanced at the watch on his wrist.

"Where is Damon? He won't come down for breakfast?" he asked in an unconvincing casual tone.

"He left hours ago"

"He left?" Jeremy muttered, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"Yeah, I'm afraid your 'good boy' act will have to wait" Stefan glared over Jeremy's shoulder at his essay, "you do know Damon is not mad at you, right?"

A new wave of anger and self-pity as if slapped the boy across the face. "I know" he said through gritted teeth and threw violently his books inside his backpack.

Stefan shook his head hopelessly and beckoned Jeremy to follow him.

"What about a car?" Stefan continued with his list of suggestions, during their drive to school. "You are getting your license soon; it would be nice to have your own car"

If that same conversation was made two days ago, Stefan would undoubtedly conquer the first place in the list of his favorite people in the whole world. He dreamed for years the day he would finally turn sixteen and get his own car and now that this day was finally a breath away, he simply did not care.

"You know what Damon got me for my sixteenth birthday?" Stefan asked all of the sudden.

"Nothing…?" Jeremy guessed.

Stefan let out a small laugh. "He actually still liked me back then" he said with a sad smile. "He got me a football"

"Sounds a lot like nothing" said Jeremy, confused as to why they were having this conversation.

"Well, on 1863 it was considered a rather 'cool' gift. He even taught me how to play it"

Jeremy said nothing.

"What I'm trying to say is, Damon is not all bad" said Stefan, "he can be quite nice to the people he cares about"

"Lucky them" Jeremy hissed, turning uncomfortably onto his seat.

Stefan looked at the boy with a serious expression on his face.

"You are one of them" he said truthfully and before Jeremy could interrupt him, he added, "He is not mad at you. He is worried, and he is worried that you'll find out that he is worried and that makes him insufferable"

Stefan had it all wrong, but Jeremy had no intention whatsoever to explain to him anything. He turned his head toward the window and remained silent for the rest of the ride.

* * *

When the bell rang announcing the end of the first period, Jeremy stormed outside the biology lab and without wanting to mingle around and endanger bumping into Matt or Tyler, who were evidently still pissed about last night; he rushed inside the history class of Mr. Bell. The classroom was still empty, part from couple of his classmates. Kylie emerged behind the door only a few seconds later.

"You're alive!" she beamed and trapped Jeremy into a tight hug. "You don't look very happy" she surveyed his ghostly-white face, "did your father find out?"

"Yeah…and he is _not_ my father" Jeremy slumped into his desk chair.

Kyle grimaced, "that bad, huh?"

"No, he was okay" said Jeremy bitterly.

"Wait…" Kyle waved her hands confused. "You threw a party, you got busted by the sheriff, you wrecked his house and he was 'okay' with it?"

Jeremy shook his head, "Yeap…he was totally fine with it…" his voice died in his throat.

"Wow, he is a keeper!" Kylie shouted excitedly. "But then…" she looked at him again, this time more carefully, "why you look so sad?"

"He didn't even yell at me" said Jeremy in an offhand sort of way; very much aware he sounded like a little kid.

"And that's bad because…?" Kyle grinned at him, her eyes twinkling.

"Because I'm stupid" Jeremy muttered resentfully.

"No you're not" she said shortly. "I know what you mean. The yelling can be a form of communication, always better than silence. You can never know what silence will bring" her eyes slid out of focus as she spoke.

Jeremy shook his head surprised. How was she, just a girl heave known for so little, to be able to understand him so well?

Kylie shot him a bright smile and bent over to grab Jeremy's backpack from the floor. She opened the side pocked and pulled out his mobile.

"Call me sometime… if you feel like talking" she said offhandedly, typing her number.

"Umm…okay…sure…yeah" Jeremy stuttered, getting back his mobile.

Mr. Bell entered the class, with the same dark expression on his face, as every time he looked at Jeremy.

"Those, Mr. Gilbert" he said grabbing Jeremy's mobile right off his hands, "are not allowed in class"

"I was about to put it away!" Jeremy snapped.

"Maybe next time you should do it sooner, instead of flirting with Mss. Atkins"

Jeremy went red. The whole class was staring at him.

"I wasn't flirting" he said, as Kylie put her hand on his shoulder, trying to prevent him from doing something very stupid, "can I have my phone back?"

A savage smile of pure hatred spread across the man's face.

"I'm afraid not Mr. Gilbert. In fact I believe your behavior had been inappropriate in so many ways, I will be forced to expel you for the day"

Jeremy remained silent, his hands tearing apart a piece of paper from the top of his desk. He knew that if he chose to stay for another second in that class he would do something he would later regret. He stood up, threw his backpack over his shoulder and left the room.

The corridors were empty of people and the boy started running toward the exit, his head clean of thoughts, all he knew was that he wanted to get away from this place. He wanted to go home. Not the Salvatore boarding house, not even the house he grew up into. He wanted to go home. The place where his parents lived and waited for him; the place where people cared if he lived or died and yell the teenage hormones out of his system, once he needed it. But there was no such place for him anymore. He was alone.

* * *

Going where his legs dragged him, without paying any attentions to the road, he walked all the way back at the Salvatore boarding house. Damon was probably out working on one of his vampire plans and Stefan was still at school with Elena and it would take him at least five more hours to realize he was missing, that gave him enough time to calm his nerves. He pushed the door open and allowed himself in. The house was quiet as always, except from the crackle of the fire, coming straight from the living room.

"You're home early" Damon's snarky voice made him jump backwards.

Jeremy bit his tongue preventing himself from saying something rude.

"I didn't feel like staying there" he said, sounding casual, peering inside the living room.

Damon had been lying on a couch reading "The Thorn Birds". He lowered the book and stared at Jeremy. The boy forced a painful smile on his face.

"Okay" said Damon stiffly and kept reading, completely ignoring Jeremy's existence.

Jeremy wanted so much to say something, force him to care, but instead he rushed upstairs and locked himself away from the rest of the world.


	12. Spiraling

Jeremy's bedroom door ripped open and a furious Stefan walked inside.

"You are such a little idiot!" he shouted, "getting yourself expelled from the second week! What the hell were you thinking?"

Jeremy pushed down his headphones and lowered his sketchbook, "did you say something?" he looked at Stefan as if for a first time.

Stefan shook his head helplessly.

"You will fail classes Jeremy, this is no joke…"

"Don't you ever get tired of being annoying, brother?" came Damon's irritating voice from down the hall, interrupting Stefan's monologue. Soon he was standing next to his brother.

"He got expelled" Stefan said as if he was announcing the end of the world.

Damon looked at Jeremy and then back at his brother.

"So…?"

"So?" Stefan repeated dryly, "Is that all you have to say? It's only the second week of school and he already managed to get himself expelled!"

"Definitely counts as a talent" said Damon lazily, leaning against the door.

Stefan ignored him, his glare darted on Jeremy. "I'll tutor you! It's either you get it together or I will!" said Stefan threateningly, "and as for you, _brother_" he added to Damon "if he fails any of his classes, you'll be the one to explain it to Elena!"

"Ah that's what this is all about" said Damon with a satisfied expression on his face, "while I was wondering why you care so much about his education"

"You know what Damon? I'm tired of cleaning up your mess every time! He is your responsibility, not mine!" said Stefan indignantly.

"I'm nobody's responsibility" Jeremy interjected angrily "Now, if you are going to fight again, can you please do it elsewhere? I'm working here" he said impatiently holding up his sketchbook.

Both brothers turned around to stare at him, as if they complete forgot he was still there.

Stefan grabbed the sketchbook out of his hands and threw it aside, "there is a girl waiting for you downstairs"

"A girl?" Jeremy repeated nervously.

"Yes, and make it quick, you have to study!" Stefan shouted after him as Jeremy left the bedroom, passing in front of Damon who turned his head the other way.

* * *

Kylie was standing at the front door, her hands placed deep inside her pockets, looking awkwardly around the Salvatore property. Once she saw Jeremy approach, a small smile lighten up her entire face.

"Hey" she waved at him.

"Hi…" said Jeremy in mild-surprise, when he reached her.

"Sorry for dropping by like this, hope it's not a bad time…but I thought you might want this back" she pulled Jeremy's mobile out of her pocket and handed it over to him.

Jeremy gasped at the mobile in his hands. "Thanks…did Mr. Bell give it to you?"

"Not exactly…"

"You stole it?" Jeremy lowered his voice, making sure only Kylie could hear him.

"Well… if you count as stealing, breaking and entering a professor's office in order to return a mobile to his original owner, then fine call it stealing. I like to see myself as Batman" Kylie smile mischievously.

"Wow…I mean…thanks. You really didn't have to get in all that trouble" said Jeremy looking impressed.

"I wanted to do something to cheer you up. Today was probably not the best day of your life….and…" Kylie hesitated, biting her lower lip"…err...I kind of wanted you to have back the only thing with my number in it, just in case"

Jeremy's face got redder than ever. "Would… you like to come in…? I mean if you want…" he asked in a low rumble, scratching paint out of the wall near him, without realizing what he was doing.

"Wont your father mind?" she asked.

Jeremy let out a derisive snort, unable to restrain himself.

"Okay then!" she beamed at him and walked inside the hallway.

Jeremy showed Kylie upstairs in his room. Damon and Stefan had already left, probably throwing stakes and daggers at each other in a different part of the house.

"Mm…I approve" said Kylie looking around at his posters, "'Radiohead' is a bit overrated but 'My chemical romance' is definitely awesome"

"Overrated?" Jeremy hissed, "Don't talk about things you don't understand, woman" he smiled, throwing himself on his desk chair.

"Seriously? A depressive emo?" Kylie continued, holding up an old picture of Jeremy from his emo phase, she found on his desk.

"Will you stop with that?" said Jeremy, as he watched Kylie going through his stuff.

"Nope, since we are going to be friends, I would like to know everything there is to know about you and there is no better way to do that, than snooping around your room"

Jeremy went quiet for a moment, then said "Why would you want to be my friend?"

"Because I don't have any" said Kylie briskly, looking at his comic book collection.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What are you talking about? The whole school likes you!"

Kylie laughed bitterly, "The whole school pretends to like me" she corrected him, "until they find out how weird I'm, then I'm going straight on the bottom of the food chain, just like everybody else"

"Okay, then you can be a cheerleader, they never end up there" Jeremy suggested.

"Right…" Kylie pretended to give it some thought, "Nope. I'm not the cheerleading type"

"C'mon, not all of them are snobbish and lame, my sister used to be one"

"I don't have anything against them, I just don't dance. No sense of rhythm whatsoever. An elephant with five right legs, would still do a better job than me" Kylie grinned at him, "did you draw those?" she asked, picking up carefully Jeremy's sketchbook from his bed.

"Um yeah" Jeremy jumped up and tried to get it away from her, but Kylie was faster. "Those are amazing, is that your girlfriend?" she stared at the most resent one. It was a sketch of Bonnie.

Jeremy's face hardened but Kylie didn't notice. The girl was too busy examining the picture.

"She was…" he said, looking down.

"She is very pretty" said Kylie eagerly, "what happened?"

Jeremy paced around his room, his head down.

"I was a jerk and she broke up with me" he said finally.

Kylie stared at him with genuine interest, but chose to change the subject.

"So, what happened today? I saw that Stefan guy before, he did _not_ look…"

"Shhh" Jeremy shushed her, "the _walls_ in here have a _very_ good hearing"

* * *

"Jeremy, you are spiraling" said Stefan in his favorite know-it-all tone. "What is bothering you so much?"

It was three days later and Stefan kept asking the exact same question, at least five times per day, even though he kept getting the exact same answer every single time. Sometimes it was disturbing for Jeremy to think how much Stefan resembled his sister.

The boy rolled his eyes, stuffing the rest of the toast in his mouth, before getting up from the counter. "Nothing" he managed to sound out.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Stefan went after him into the entrance hall.

"School" said Jeremy vaguely.

"Okay, I'll drive us, I just have to make a few calls first" said Stefan, pulling out his mobile.

"No, I would actually prefer to walk, get my priorities straight…since I'm _spiraling_"

For Jeremy's sake, Stefan missed the sarcasm and nodded pleased, thinking that all the hours he spend lecturing the boy, finally seemed to be paying off "okay, see you in school then"

Truth to be told Jeremy did start with the intention of going to school, but somewhere along the way he changed his mind. The hatred between him and Mr. Bell was at its finest point. There was no day ever since Jeremy got expelled without Mr. Bell's constant snarky comments about Jeremy's stupidity and lack of knowledge, not to mention the week's long detention he treated him. And of course the collection of school letters he'd been sending every day to the Salvatore boarding house, forcing Jeremy to sign them by himself, in order to avoid more of Stefan's whining.

Nothing really mattered to him anymore, school, future, life… were all words far away from his reality. For all he knew he could die the next day and it would make no difference in the world. He was just a kid that nobody bothered with and people only cared when his sister forced them to and since everybody kept treating him like a stupid child, he decided to start acting like one.

A pair of tiny hands prodded him in the back, forcing him out of his thoughts.

Jeremy turned on his heels, around to Kylie. "Hey, are you following me?"

"You wish!" she beamed at him, punching Jeremy lightly in the arm. "What are you up to?"

"Skipping school" said Jeremy with a shrug.

"How very daring of you" Kylie sneered, "can I come? History is _not_ how I want to start my day"

"Sure…" said Jeremy vaguely, "where do you want to go?"

"Well, since I'm new to Mystic Falls, how about you lead the way? Show me around the interesting stuff"

Having agreed on the term, Jeremy thought hard, trying to find an interesting enough place in Mystic Falls.

"Okay…this place must be a bore" Kylie commented, judging by the look on his face. "Let me make it easier, take me to a place where you haven't been in ages"

This time Jeremy made up his mind in a split second, "Come" he said as he set off for the old Lockwood property.

Kylie jumped excitedly after him, "where are we going?" she asked, as they walked down the road.

"The woods" said Jeremy shortly.

"That's not creepy at all…"

Having discussed every subject known to mankind, starting from the weather and ending up arguing about the avengers, Jeremy and Kylie got far enough inside the woods.

"What's that?" Kylie looked upwards in what appeared to be a small house barely standing on top of a high tree.

"My safe place… I haven't been here since…" Jeremy tried to say since his father passed but his voice died in his throat.

"Did you build it?" Kylie asked examining if the rope ladder was steady enough to climb.

"My dad did. One summer when he decided to teach me and my sister about the outdoors…I still think this was his excuse to get some 'alone time' at home with mom"

Kylie let out a small laugh, "can we go up?"

"Sure, why not…" Jeremy helped her to the ladder.

He climbed right after her and got through the tiny door, his head bumping in the low ceiling "wow, this was a lot bigger, when I was a lot smaller". He crawled to the end of the tree house and sat on the dusty mattress, so that Kylie could have a good look around.

Nothing really changed since the last time he was there, even the monopoly game he never got to finish with Elena, Matt and Vicky was still open and fake money was lying all around the wooden floor.

"It's perfect…" said Kylie weakly, surveying Jeremy's face as if she expected him to burst into tears. But on the contrary, this was the first time Jeremy felt so happy in a long time. Every decayed piece of wood was filled with the best memories of his life. If anything, he was happy to be back there.

The two of them sat down on the mattress next to each other, eyes darted downwards.

"Your turn" said Jeremy suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Kylie turned around to look at him.

"I told you about my pathetic life; it's your turn now"

Kylie remained silent for a second, then said "Umm…I'm the prodigy of a gay couple…I have two dads'" she explained.

"That's cool" said Jeremy lightly, "what else?"

Kylie smiled slightly relieved. "Nothing else"

"Oh c'mon. Not fair!" Jeremy looked scandalized; "I told you everything" he lied.

"It's all you get for tod –" Kylie's voice got interrupted by Jeremy's ring tone.

"Why aren't you picking up?" she asked, watching Jeremy turning off his phone and throwing it aside.

"Because I know exactly who it is and I know exactly what he wants" said Jeremy shortly, meaning Stefan who must have find out Jeremy was not in school.

* * *

Jeremy and Kylie stayed in the tree house for hours talking, reading comic books and playing with some of Elena's old toys.

"Can we eat those?" Kylie asked after she found a bag of potato chips under the mattress. Outside was getting dark and breezy. It was very fortunate Jeremy remembered where they used to keep the flashlights.

"I wouldn't recommend it" said Jeremy slightly disgusted as he watched Kylie opening the two year old potato chips and putting one in her mouth.

"What? I'm hungry" she said indignantly, pointing her flashlight in Jeremy's face, blinding him. "Are you planning to go home, ever?"

"Yeah…"

"So, this is not like running away?"

"I'm not five years old, to run away from home and hide in a tree house…"

"It kind of looks like it from where I'm standing" Kylie laughed, munching on her chips.

"And you're eating something that has expired years ago" said Jeremy evenly.

"I'm hungry!" Kylie repeated, "And for your information, these are not that bad"

"You can go home you know" said Jeremy flatly, making shadows on the wall with his flashlight.

"And miss all the fun? No, I'll stay here until you agree this is stupid"

"I agreed on that, six hours ago"

"Then can we please g –" for once again Kylie's voice got interrupted, this time by something coming from outside. They turned off their flashlights and exchanged a look of complete understanding. They crawled all the way to the window and peeked outside. The woods seemed to be deserted. For a wild moment Jeremy thought it might be Damon searching for him, but then he saw two strange figures coming their way. They were speaking in hushed voices, conspiratorially, in a language Jeremy had never heard before. But then all of the sudden a familiar voice got through them. Jeremy froze for a second, and judging by Kylie's face she was thinking the exact same thing.

"_Mr. Bell_" Jeremy muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Kylie nodded in the dark.

The two men were getting away, lost in the night but for Jeremy that opportunity was too perfect to miss. Mr. Bell was clearly up to something and Jeremy wasn't planning to leave this place without finding what.

He nodded to Kylie to follow him and carefully got himself hanging from the ladder, slowly getting down. He then helped Kylie and together they set off to the direction the two men disappeared.

Everything was dark around them and soon they had to take out their flashlights, always making sure to keep them down, so they won't attract any unwanted attention. Kylie seemed more eager into the whole teacher stalking thing that Jeremy gave her credit for.

They were almost lost, looking wildly around for a sign of the two men, when they heard voices nearby. Jeremy ducked down and indicated Kylie to do the same. His heart was banging against his ribs as he crawled towards the voices. He helped Kylie hide under some bushes and got himself nearer. He was lying barely ten feet away from them. He leaned closer, and listened to the silence around him.

A strange yellow light was coming from the spot where the two men stand. Mr. Bell was in the center of the light while the other man was standing right behind him, hidden in the shadows. There was something weird about Mr. Bell, in the way he moved and spoke, it was different from the obnoxious man he really was.

From his hiding place, Jeremy could see the look on Mr. Bell's face as he raised his hands to the heavens and spoke to the night in a foreign language; his eyes were scarlet and fathomless. He looked empty and confused. And then it hit him, Mr. Bell wasn't himself, he was compelled.


	13. Lost and Found

_Damon, Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Tyler_, for all he knew, those were the only vampires in Mystic Falls, but no matter how hard he tried, Jeremy couldn't think of a good enough reason for any of them to compel Mr. Bell. Sure he was annoying and obnoxious, but Jeremy knew better than anyone that nobody deserved to have his mind messed with, even people like Mr. Bell.

Jeremy heard leaves cracking, only inches away from him. He turned his head around and looked back. Kylie was crawling toward him, her elbows bleeding.

"We need to go" he mouthed to her when she reached him. He knew that the vampire who compelled Mr. Bell shouldn't be far from the midnight gathering and if Kylie was injured, he could smell her blood and track them down in a split second.

Kylie didn't need telling twice. She backed away first and Jeremy followed her almost immediately, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while, at the bright, yellow light.

They didn't dare talk to each other or even lift their heads up from the ground, until they were far enough from the two men.

Jeremy scrambled to his feet and held down a hand to help Kylie.

"That was weird" she muttered breathlessly, getting on the same level with the boy.

"Yeah…" Jeremy muttered back, examining the cut on her elbow, "are you okay?" he asked worryingly.

Kylie smiled, her lip quivered, "I'm fine"

Jeremy checked his pockets, searching for his flashlight.

"Damn it! I must have lost it back there" he whispered angrily.

"Do you know where we are?" Kylie asked, looking around her.

"Maybe…I don't know" Jeremy stared at the unfamiliar location; "I think we have to go _that_ way" he pointed North.

"Your tone and the use of the word 'think' bring out such confidence" Kylie sneered, making Jeremy laugh.

Without thinking twice about it, Jeremy took out his ring and gave it to Kylie.

"Wear this"

"What's that?" Kylie asked, bringing the ring closer to her eye so she can examine it.

"It's a ring, wear this and it will all be okay, no matter what" Jeremy answered carefully and waited until she wore it on her finger, just like he told her. "I'm sorry" he said.

Kylie raised her eyebrows, but it was too dark for Jeremy to see.

"What for?"

"It is my fault we got into this mess" he said, as they set off North, holding each other's hand.

"Don't even think about that! I came here with you because I wanted to" she said earnestly.

They kept walking in silence, speaking occasionally about subjects such as 'comic books', 'The hunger games' and 'who would win in a fight? Superman or a dinosaur?' carefully avoiding the Mr. Bell topic.

Jeremy had no intention to discuss Mr. Bell's midnight stroll and was very glad that Kylie felt the same. To his great surprise, she didn't ask any questions about what she just saw. She looked so astounded, that words couldn't by any means describe the way she felt.

"I'll be sixteen in precisely ten minutes" said Jeremy, looking at the watch on his wrist, trying to break the awkward silence.

"It's good to see you being so optimistic" said Kylie in a small, terrified voice.

They were walking for about half hour, when all of the sudden Kylie screamed, pointing a shaking finger, "somebody is here!" she cried.

Jeremy looked at the direction Kylie was pointing. He couldn't see anything. The boy glanced at Kylie, who looked back hopelessly.

"Stay here" he whispered, "if I'm not back in five minutes, run"

Kylie shook her head, terror in her eyes and hid behind a tree. Jeremy however, turned his head from side to side and walked forward nervously. He felt a constant pair of eyes, darted upon him, watching his every move.

There was the sound of a whistle, right behind Jeremy. He jumped up, staring wildly around; trying to spot the intruder and make sure Kylie would have enough time to run if anything happened to him.

A hand touched him firmly on the shoulder.

"_Behind you_" said a creepy, whispery voice in Jeremy's ear. The boy froze; he wheeled around and let out a gasp. "It's you" he panted.

A rather hard smack got him at the back of his head. He lost his balance and fell down on the ground.

"What was that for!" he yelled, looking up at Damon who was standing over him, his pale, blue eyes gleaming in the dark.

Damon's face looked very deranged, with not even a hint of sarcasm. He was about to say something, when he heard Kylie picking up a rock and moving slowly toward him. He turned around at once and grabbed Kylie's hand in midair with a smirk, right before she gets the chance to strike.

Kylie gasped in surprise like Jeremy, as she immediately recognized Damon.

"Oops" she breathed and let the rock slip through her fingers.

The three of them remained silent, looking at one another; Jeremy still lying on the ground.

"Come" said Damon finally in a strange voice, turning his back to the two teenagers.

Jeremy got up. He and Kylie exchanged uncomfortable looks; they had no choice but to follow him, assuming that Damon knew where he was going.

* * *

They did not speak again until they reached Kylie's house, which also happened to be only a couple blocks away from where Jeremy used to live.

"Thank you" said Kylie in a small voice, looking eagerly at Damon.

Damon smirked at the girl, but it was nowhere near as snarky and patronizing as it was usually.

"…and, thank you" Kylie continued, this time indicating Jeremy, whose face twitched.

He wanted to say so many things at that moment, to warn her, but having Damon breathing down his neck like an angry bull, didn't make it any easier.

"Kylie…"

"Move it, Romeo" Damon interrupted, impatiently.

"…see you in school" Jeremy muttered finally, hoping that Kylie wouldn't go blubbering about Mr. Bell to her parents.

Once Kylie went inside her house and out of sight, Jeremy got the opportunity to speak to Damon about everything he saw and heard in the woods. Mr. Bell's compulsion was surely a little piece of information Damon would be very keen to listen to. This was Jeremy's last chance to be useful again. But before he could do or say anything, Damon yanked the boy by the ear and dragged him along with him as he walked.

"What the hell!" Jeremy protested, fighting against Damon's grip, only causing himself more pain.

Damon ignored him and kept walking.

"Let go of me!" Jeremy yelled, his voice piercing the silent night.

Damon's face contorted. He stopped walking and turned around, as his eyes met Jeremy's for a first time that week. For only a second, there was a weird glimpse of fear in his glare, the kind that Jeremy had never seen before.

"Let go of me…" Jeremy repeated steadily, his eyes watering from the pain.

Damon loosened his grip and stepped away from the boy.

"Why did you come?" Jeremy asked, rubbing his ear indignantly.

Damon didn't answer; he only rolled his eyes, indicating that the boy's question was almost as stupid as the boy himself.

"I didn't need you! Back there, I was doing fine!" Jeremy yelled, waving his hands in frustration.

Damon caught his right arm in midair, "where the hell is your ring?" he asked in a low, serious voice.

"Huh?" said Jeremy, mildly taken aback, "oh, I gave it to Kylie"

"You did what?" asked Damon, with suppressed fury.

"I gave the ring to Kylie" Jeremy repeated and wrenched his hand out of Damon's reach.

"You gave your ring to the girl…YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, MORON!" Damon screamed in Jeremy's already sore, ear.

Looking at Damon's face, Jeremy stepped backwards, for a first time wishing Stefan was around. "Since when do you care?" he yelled back, defiantly, once Damon stopped screaming.

"I don't care!" Damon snapped at him again.

"Then why are you here?"

Damon hesitated. "Because you are a stupid kid!" he yelled in an exasperated voice, "You skip school, run away to the middle of nowhere, get lost and decide to play hero by taking your ring off for your little girlfriend, _on a full moon!_"

Jeremy looked up at the dark sky, illuminated by a bright, crystal ball. He was so lost those past few days, he totally forgot that night was a full moon. That would explain Mr. Bell's little ritual.

Having his mind back at Mr. Bell and everything he saw that night, Jeremy thought for a second of telling Damon everything about it. But he almost immediately changed his mind and decided to focus on more urgent issues.

"I don't need your help!"

"I can see that" said Damon, regaining his typical snarky tone.

"Bad move coming here Damon. With a bit of luck, somebody would have killed me back there and all your problems would be over!" he couldn't stop himself from saying.

For a few seconds Damon didn't move at all. His face twitched as if in pain and advanced creepily toward the boy.

"Elena is waiting for you at home" he said shortly and pushed the boy lightly in the back.

* * *

During their walk back to the Salvatore boarding house, Jeremy was under the impression Damon walked a lot faster than usual, probably wanting to get rid of his company sooner rather than later. Jeremy wanted to apologize for what he said earlier, he didn't really mean it. He knew that Damon didn't want him dead, unless he was the one to kill him. But just like Damon, the boy was not very good with apologies and instead chose to stay quiet.

"He's here" Jeremy heard Stefan say, as he pushed the front door open.

Elena ran to the entrance hall and pulled Jeremy in a hug so tight he could barely breathe and cried over his shoulder.

"Jeremy" she managed to sound out, stifling her tears.

"I'm fine…" Jeremy muttered, trying to escape from his sister's hug.

"Where were you?" asked Stefan in a fake, pleasant voice, looking severely over at Jeremy.

The boy knew that if his sister wasn't around, Stefan's tone would be a good deal less friendly.

"Umm…" Jeremy started, trying quickly to think of a convincing lie.

"He was at the Grill" said Damon immediately, interrupting Jeremy. "I told you we should call the Quarterback first"

"Yeah, I was at the Grill" Jeremy shook his head, relief seeping through him.

Unlike Elena, Stefan didn't look convinced. He was staring from Damon to Jeremy, his eyes narrowed with nothing less, but pure suspicion.

"You, upstairs, it's past your bedtime" said Damon smirking sarcastically, as he pulled Jeremy out of Elena's hug and propelled the boy toward the staircase.

Normally, Jeremy would answer, but this time he decided not to. He was already in depth to Damon, not only for saving him and Kylie from the woods but mostly for sparing him over a hundred hours of Stefan's lectures, if he had find out Jeremy was not at the Grill that night.

"Jer" Damon called after him.

Jeremy was already halfway up the stairs, when he turned on his heel and looked down at his guardian.

"Happy birthday" Damon smirked and went after Stefan, inside the living room.


	14. Birthday Wish

On the official day of his birthday, Jeremy woke up at ten o'clock in the morning, confused as to what happened the previous night and having a strong feeling he must have dreamed it all. Mr. Bell was compelled, a strange man was with him and Damon didn't want him dead. Nothing made sense in the world anymore.

Surprised that it was a school day and nobody woke him up earlier, the boy got dressed and leaned over his nightstand, where there were placed two homemade birthday cards. Jeremy didn't have to open them to know they were both made by Elena, despite that one of them had Stefan's name on it.

Coming down the stairs, Jeremy entered the living room, where he found a pink 'sweet 16' banner, hanging above Elena's head.

"Elena, I know you wanted a sister, but I think it's about time you accept I'm a boy" Jeremy sneered from the threshold, eyes darted on a unicorn shaped piñata, hanging from the ceiling.

Once Elena saw him approach, she launched herself off her sit and went for a hug. Stefan stood up as well and judging by his face, he was willing to postpone his lecture about the previous night's events and allow Jeremy to enjoy his birthday.

"Happy birthday" Stefan smiled at Jeremy, patting his shoulder. "_Sorry_" he mouthed to him behind Elena's back, pointing at the purple balloons and the pink decorations.

"Thanks…Oh and thank you both for the cards. I especially enjoyed the puppies on yours, Stefan" said Jeremy, enjoying the mocking process.

Stefan's face contorted, "I thought we agreed on guitars" he muttered to Elena.

"Yes, but puppies are cuter" said Elena dismissively.

"And it's a girl!" said the snarky voice of Damon right behind Jeremy, making him jump. "Oh wait, no, it's a Jeremy"

Jeremy repressed a snort with difficulty.

Feeling very conscious of everybody staring right at him, the boy felt the sudden need to get back to his room, but once Elena sensed it, she flung her arms around Jeremy's shoulders and refused to let go.

As it turned out, Elena had planned a full day of so called 'fun activities' for Jeremy's birthday, including re-watching for a millionth time 'the notebook', even though both Jeremy and Damon pointed out it was a 'chick movie'. Stefan agreed with them but wasn't too keen on sharing his feelings.

After a two hour long movie, the breaking of the unicorn piñata and a rather awkward birthday song, Jeremy made his second attempt of escaping, in order to avoid the rest of Elena's bucket list.

"Well that was perfect" said Jeremy, putting down his fork, "is it over?" he added as hopeful afterthought.

Stefan leaned toward Jeremy and held him down "I know it sucks, but she put a lot of effort in this, so please pretend to have fun" he whispered.

Jeremy rolled his eyes but sat down and kept eating his bunny birthday cake, moodily.

Elena was the only one who seemed to really enjoy the party; she was running excitedly all around the house, dancing, picking up games and forcing the rest of them to play along. Stefan did too, but it was obvious to the trained eye that he was faking it, out of his love to her. Damon like Jeremy was bored to death at first, but then he decided to amuse himself by teaming up with Jeremy against Stefan's neurological system.

"Mailman!" Jeremy shouted at Damon's board drawing, in their third round of Pictionary.

"Correct!" Damon shouted back and updated the score from 8-3 to 9-3.

"How is _that_ a mailman?" Stefan yelled frustrated, pointing at the little smudge on the board that looked more like a crippled bear than anything else. "You're cheating!"

"We are not cheating" Damon and Jeremy chorused innocently, for a tenth time since the game started. Of course they were cheating but there was no way for Stefan to prove it.

"You're just a lousy loser, brother" Damon added satisfyingly and sat back down, next to Jeremy.

"Okay, I'm done playing with you" Stefan stood up, raising his hands in defeat. "That is _not_ a mailman and that other thing you drew was _not_ a volcano. You're obviously cheating!"

"We're not cheating" Damon and Jeremy chorused for an eleventh time, both unable to keep a straight face.

"Do you see what they're doing?!" Stefan turned to Elena, pointing at Jeremy and Damon.

"Okay Stefan, we cheat, you win. Now stop being such a baby" said Damon in a mocking voice, throwing his arms back and enjoying Stefan's struggle for justice.

Stefan shot a murderous look at his brother and took a step closer to him, but Elena was faster and pulled him down before Stefan get the chance to attack.

"I think it's time for what we talked about" Elena clapped her hands, changing the subject abruptly.

"Okay…" Stefan muttered angrily and placed his hand inside the front pocket of his jeans. When it came out, a small pair of keys was trapped around his fingers. Stefan drew a deep breath, still trying to recover from the most unfair game of Pictionary the world has ever faced and threw the keys over to Jeremy.

The boy caught them and stared at them confused. "What's that?" he asked.

"Those are the keys to your new car" Stefan explained, looking at the boy.

Jeremy's jaw dropped, eyes darted at the keys as if they were about to disappear.

"You're serious…? I get a car…?" he looked up at Stefan, who pulled the keys right off his hands.

"But before that" Stefan started holding up the keys, in front of Jeremy's face. "There are a few _reasonable_ terms"

"Of course there are" said Damon airily, pouring himself some bourbon. "Just try to finish before he is seventeen"

"I'll do anything!" said Jeremy, his grin slightly fading.

"Number one: You don't get to drive it until you get your driver's license" Stefan started preaching.

"Done" Jeremy jumped up, nodding frantically at him.

"Number two" Stefan continued abruptly, "having a car doesn't mean driving off to somewhere without telling us about it"

"I heard Vegas is nice this time of the year" Damon interrupted thoughtfully, having a sip from his glass.

Stefan ignored him, "Number three: You don't touch the car if you have to drink as much as a red bull"

It was ten minutes, two glasses of bourbon and fifteen rules later and Stefan kept going like nothing else mattered.

"Number sixteen: seat-belt is not an accessory, use it"

"Okay…" Jeremy yawned, plainly not listening to a word Stefan was saying. He blocked out Stefan's voice back in rule number seven, ("driving over the speed limit doesn't make you cool, it makes you dead") in order to preserve his sanity, when he realized Stefan was only getting started.

"Number sev…Hey!"

An exasperated and drunk Damon yanked the keys out of his brother's hand and threw them back at Jeremy, who immediately launched himself from his sit and set off toward the garage.

"I'm not done!" Stefan yelled after him.

"Don't worry; it's not like he is ever going to drive this thing" said Damon calmly and went after the boy.

* * *

"Is this seriously mine?" Jeremy asked disbelievingly, looking open mouthed, at the blue mini cooper in front of him.

"Looks like it" said Damon, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching.

"Wow…" Jeremy breathed, without daring to touch the car, afraid to spoil its perfection.

"Be excited now that you can, I can guarantee you will only drive this in your dreams"

Jeremy's head turned so fast, his neck cracked. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough" said Damon with a self-satisfied smirk, tapping the top of the boy's new car.

Jeremy, who had been sitting in a kind of gleeful trance, had a sudden idea.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" he said, lowering his voice and glancing around.

"No" said Damon abruptly.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!" Jeremy spat, trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach.

Damon rolled his eyes and turned on his heels, "You were going to ask me to fill you in the business your little nose doesn't belong"

"No…" said Jeremy hastily, even though that was exactly what he wanted to ask.

Damon raised his eyebrow in challenge.

"So?" he prompted him.

"I want you to train me" said Jeremy the first thing that came to his mind.

"Train you? Train you for what?"

"Fight vampires" said Jeremy, trying his best to sound strong on that statement.

Damon laughed, "Don't be stupid Jeremy, Salvatores are not stupid" he shook his head dismissively.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm a Gilbert" Jeremy snarled.

Damon paced around the garage, turning to look at the boy from time to time.

"I don't have time to teach you something you will never have to use"

"I want to be prepared. One day I'll be eighteen and you won't be able to stop me from doing whatever I want"

At this point it was obvious that Damon wasn't taking any part of this conversation seriously, in fact Jeremy was surprised he was still standing there, instead of going back in the house.

"Jeremy, the second you turn eighteen, I will personally compel you to college" Damon reassured him.

"What if I don't want to go to college?"

"I'm sorry, which part of the word 'compel' you didn't understand?" Damon sneered. "Alaric appointed me your guardian so I can give you a life, not lure you down in the world of crazy"

"If Alaric was here, he would train me like he did with Elena. He would want me to be able to protect myself…but then again, you are not him"

His words had the exact effect he had hoped. Damon grimaced and a look of deep skepticism came across his face.

The sound of the doorbell came from the inside the house and Damon dashed out of the garage to go open it. Jeremy tailed him closely, not willing to let Damon leave without a final answer.

When they reached the entrance hall, Stefan had already opened the door. On the threshold was standing Klaus accompanied by his brother and Original vampire, Kol.

Jeremy looked up at Kol and it took him several seconds to realize what was going on. In his mind, Kol was still a seventeen year old guy with a weird, fake, British accent, he once met in Denver and became friends with, only to find out a couple months later that he was sent to kill him.

"I came across some very interesting information this morning and as a good neighbor and friend, I have decided to share my knowledge" Klaus was saying.

Stefan sighed deeply, "seriously Klaus, what do you want?"

"What I want is for you to keep your part of the deal" said Klaus in tones of outrage.

"You made a deal with _him_?" Jeremy interrupted, looking at Damon, who stood nearest to him.

"Go to your room" said Damon sternly.

"What? No!" Jeremy refused, looking angrily at Damon.

"I said; go to your room, now" Damon repeated dangerously.

"So the rumors are true" Klaus interrupted with a slightly twisted smile, indicating Jeremy. "I never thought of you as the paternal type"

Jeremy's hands were balled into tight fists, something that didn't pass unnoticed.

"Easy there mate" said Kol briskly, his eyes scrutinizing Jeremy.

"Oh but of course. You two know each other" said Klaus, sounding very pleased. "_The Denver friendship_"

Jeremy tried to move forward, but Damon caught him around the waist and threw him back.

"Go upstairs. I'm not going to say it again" said Damon; there was finality in his tone.

Jeremy stood there for a few seconds, looking miserably around the room in search for some help, but as no one seemed willing, not even his sister, Jeremy rolled his eyes and slowly crept up the stairs.


	15. Surprising Surprises

The sound of a whistle broke inside Jeremy's ear. Confused as to what was happening, the boy opened one of blurry eyes and disoriented in the total darkness, flung out his arm from under the warm bed covers and lit his lamp.

From the dim light of the lamp, Jeremy saw Damon standing over his bed with an expression of utmost amusement; from his neck was hanging a silver whistle, identical to the one Mr. Parker, the P.E coach owned.

"Good morning sunshine" Damon sneered, blowing through his whistle for a second time.

Jeremy clapped his hands over his ears, as the whistle still echoed inside his head and reached for his mobile, lying on top of his nightstand.

"_It's four-thirty in the morning_" he cried, looking up at Damon as if he completely lost his mind.

"Exactly, and you keep wasting daylight" Damon threw a pillow at the boy's face.

"_There is no daylight!_" Jeremy hissed, pointing at the window and the dark, starry sky.

"Oh, my apologies, I was under the impression you wanted to train" said Damon, raising his eyebrows and turning on his heel.

At the sound of the word 'train', Jeremy jumped up excitedly, fully awake.

"You are going to train me?"

Damon smiled, but made no answer. He only nodded, before strolling casually out of the boy's room.

Jeremy leapt off his bed and went after him.

"Are you seriously going to train me?" he kept asking, hurrying down the stairs, still wearing his pajamas.

He followed Damon outside on the front lawn. It was breezy and soon Jeremy regret for not taking the time to put on some decent clothes.

"Yes, I will train you" Damon announced as the boy stood before him. "But first, _there are a few reasonable terms_" he said, imitating Stefan's self-righteous tone.

"Perfect…" Jeremy muttered to himself. It was only hours after his last 'Salvatore terms' experience.

"Number one: You do as I say, without the attitude" Damon started holding out one finger, in front of Jeremy's face. "Number two: The moment you fail a class, the deal is automatically out"

"Fine…" said Jeremy through gritted teeth, making a mental note to later go dig out his history book from under his desk, where it was used as a stabilizer.

"And, number three: You keep itto yourself. Not Stefan or Elena are to know that I agreed to train you. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal" Jeremy shook his head immediately, without giving the matter even the necessary thought.

"Good" Damon clapped his hands and started rolling up his sleeves, businesslike. "Start running"

"Running?" Jeremy asked, slightly put out. He expected something a lot more exciting for his first assignment. "For how long?"

"Don't worry about that, I'll tell you when to stop" Damon smirked self-satisfyingly and retreated to the porch.

Still confused as to why it was necessary for him to do that, Jeremy started running. He ran against the biting wind, four times around the Salvatore property, but Damon yet did not tell him to stop. Judging by Damon's face, Jeremy was under the impression he looked like a total idiot. Very soon he lost track of time. He had no idea for how long he had been running; it felt like hours. To complete the disaster, to Damon's great amusement, it started to rain.

"You can quit if you want, or we can keep training" said Damon, pleasantly.

Jeremy nodded and ignoring the sharp pain in his side, he kept running at full speed. He was soaked from the rain, his toes and fingers were growing numb and he was starting to shiver, but there was no way in hell he would quit so fast.

Meanwhile, Damon was comfortably sitting at a striped chair filled with cushions, under the shed, completely protected by the rain and enjoying a breakfast bourbon from his flask.

By the time Damon decided to stop Jeremy, the rain has started to ease and the sun was already out.

Jeremy's knees hit the hard ground and the boy fell forward, struggling to catch a breath.

"That's it for today" said Damon, looking at the watch on his wrist.

"What?" Jeremy panted, trying to ease his heartbeat.

"Same time tomorrow, unless of course you want to quit" Damon raised his eyebrow in challenge.

Jeremy was in total disgrace. He had just spent two hours running around like an idiot, thinking that after the torturing, the real training would follow. He didn't want to learn how to run, running is for cowards. He wanted to learn how to fight, learn how to shoot! But of course Damon already knew that.

"No, I'll be here" said Jeremy steadily, getting back on his feet to face Damon.

"Okay, same time, same place" said Damon and headed back inside the house.

Jeremy stared after him for a few seconds, muttering curses from under his breath.

Sunday's training session had no reason to be any different from the previous one, only this time Jeremy was prepared for the worst. He woke up by himself at four o'clock in the morning, got dressed and went outside on the front lawn, where he waited for Damon.

Damon came only a few minutes later. He sat down on his striped chair under the shed, pulled his flask out of his leather jacket and indicated Jeremy to start running.

Just like Saturday, Damon stopped the boy from running only when the sun was already out and Jeremy looked about to pass out.

* * *

"You look like you've been tortured" Stefan commented, looking down at Jeremy on Monday morning. "Did Klaus come over?" he added worryingly.

"Mm…" Jeremy muttered, his head drifting dangerously over his bowl of captain crunch.

"Have you been getting any sleep?" Stefan went on, buzzing over the boy's ear.

Jeremy waved his hands, as if trying to chase away a highly annoying fly.

"I said; have you been getting any sleep?" Stefan repeated, determinate to get a proper answer.

"YES!" Jeremy shouted, head down at the counter.

Stefan laid an anxious hand on Jeremy's forehead, to feel his temperature.

"You're okay" he said knowledgably, pulling back his hand. "But I still think you should stay home for today"

"No!" Jeremy jumped alerted, almost throwing his saggy now serial off the counter.

Stefan narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Jeremy's all so sudden change of heart towards school.

Normally he would take Stefan's offer without thinking twice about it but from now on, school had a brand new meaning for him. Instead of just going from one boring class to the other, Jeremy had a mission far more important.

Mr. Bell's midnight ritual in the company of some strange man, who could as easily be a vampire, was only a tiny clue on top of a pile of weird events happening on Mystic Falls for the past few weeks. A tiny but useful clue that could lead him to all the answers he hoped to get for a very long time.

Klaus's sudden arrival to Mystic Falls only a day after the incident, was definitely not just a coincidence, he had to be the vampire who compelled Mr. Bell. But then again, Klaus was evidently working with Damon and the rest of the dream team. What would they have to use Mr. Bell for? He was a useless, pitiful, little man. What was so special about him? Jeremy was willing to find out. But first thing on his to do list that morning was an appointment with his driving instructor for his final practice test, to get his license.

Even though Jeremy was considered to be a rather good driver, turns out that physical exhaustion, in addition to two cups of coffee, nine mouthfuls of sugar and his ADHD medication, would result in nothing less but Bags Bunny on Prozac. It was very fortunate that his instructor was almost as tired and hangovered as he was and didn't even notice when after three miles of driving above the speed limit by 30mph and rampaging almost half the cones on the lane, Jeremy drifted on the wheel for a couple of seconds and passed the boy with a respectable mark, simply out of boredom.

After spending five minutes with his head under the sink on the boy's bathroom, in order to pull himself back together, Jeremy set off toward history class. Mr. Bell was already settled behind Alaric's old desk when he arrived and even though the class hasn't officially started, Mr. Bell jumped on the opportunity to hand Jeremy a week's long detention.

Jeremy's glare travelled around his classmates, but the person he was panting to find was not there. No matter how hard he stared at it, Kylie's sit remained empty. An icy feeling got through his stomach. What if she told her parents about what happened? They would surely report Mr. Bell. The whole town would find out about the teacher doing rituals in the middle of the woods on a full moon and his master plan would go down the drain and in a split second, throw Jeremy back to his old, meaningless life. But then again, Kylie could have simply overslept and that's why she was missing school. _Yes, Kylie overslept_; Jeremy decided and sat down on his desk chair.

Mr. Bell looked nothing like he did that night in the woods. His eyes were back to their original black color, his deep, drawling voice was jibber-jabbering about boring historical acts, and overall he didn't look possessed anymore.

For a whole hour, Jeremy didn't take his eyes away from Mr. Bell, something that Mr. Bell didn't fail to notice and found an excuse to upgrade the boy's detention to a two week's long, calling Jeremy's behavior: inappropriate.

Biting down the fury of his unfair punishment, Jeremy carefully tailed Mr. Bell all the way down to the teachers' lounge and waited to see to who he would speak to. As it turned out, Mr. Bell didn't only hate Jeremy, which was quite relieving, but as well as the rest of the human race. He didn't appear to have many friends; in fact, most of his colleagues seemed rather nervous, every time he walked past them.

Peeking carefully through the glass doors, Jeremy watched Mr. Bell as he sat down on a chair at the end of the room, away from the rest of his fellow teachers. He pulled an important looking notebook out of his briefcase and hid his face behind it, until the beginning of the next period.

* * *

Getting home from school, Jeremy strolled inside the living room.

"I got my license!" he announced happily, beaming around the room. After a full day of tailing Mr. Bell and three days of torturing-training from Damon, this was the best thing that happened to him in a while. He would finally be able to drive his car and from now on avoid the awkward school rides with Stefan.

Stefan emerged from the hallway, having heard of Jeremy's voice and walked toward him.

"There is my license" said Jeremy, holding it before him like a bomb. "Can I drive my car now?"

"This is about to get fun" Damon commented, throwing his book aside and walking all the way to his bourbon stash, his face split in an evil grin.

Jeremy didn't understand what Damon was talking about.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking from one Salvatore brother to the other.

"Can I first take a look at your math test?" said Stefan casually, waving aside the information about Jeremy's license.

"Why?" said Jeremy looking chest-fallen.

"Because I want to see it" Stefan seemed beyond reason.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and pulled the math test from inside his school bag.

Stefan surveyed the test for few seconds before handing it back to the boy.

"C -" Stefan announced mournfully to the room.

"Oooo" Damon groaned as if he was watching a football match and the opposite team had just scored the winning goal.

"Okay, so?" said Jeremy with a shrug, unable to understand what was the big deal about a simple C- and what that had to do with his car.

"You broke the deal" said Stefan dryly. "You need a B average in all your classes to drive the car. It was in the terms" he added in response to the boy's lost expression.

Jeremy's mouth fell open in horror; there was pounding in his ears. This was a big, bad joke, it had to be. What on earth could he possibly have done to deserve this?

"You joking, right?" he broke off with a small laugh.

"You knew what was coming, you agreed on _our_ terms" said Stefan, meaning himself, Damon and of course, Elena.

"I would never agree on that! That was not a part of the terms!" said Jeremy, forcing himself to remain calm.

"Sure it was" Stefan strolled across the room to the bookshelves and pulled a fresh copied piece of paper out of an emerald file. "Here" he pointed somewhere on the paper, "Number twelve: in order to pursue the right of driving, you are expected to make a B average in all of your classes"

"Number twelve?" Jeremy scoffed, "I was asleep by the time you got to number twelve!"

"He has a point" Damon interrupted with a tight smile, taking a sip from his glass of bourbon.

"And: _'to pursue'_? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jeremy continued, struggling to keep his voice even.

"It means that even if you do manage to pull a B average and fulfill the rest of the blabla requirements, we still have the right to not allow you the car, in case we feel like it" Damon explained willingly.

"So, I'm basically never going to drive my own car" Jeremy muttered stiffly.

"Bingo!" Damon threw his hands in the air "You're kind of slow, but eventually you get there"

"You have no right to do that" said Jeremy, every inch of him trembling with fury.

"Sure we have" Stefan interrupted, stepping forward. "You ran away three nights ago and you think I'm going to hand you over a car, just like that? So you can flee town whenever you feel like it?"

"I did not run away" said Jeremy, shooting a furtive look at Damon, "I was at the Grill"

"Oh give it a rest!" Stefan snapped, "I know you were not at the Grill. I asked Matt, he hasn't talked to you properly since the party. Ah the party, of course. Another bright idea"

"Screw you Stefan. You don't know what's right for me! You barely know what's right for you, Mr. Ripper!" Jeremy yelled, his voice growing louder with every word. "Just because you were born a hundred and fifty years before me, it doesn't make you smart and doesn't make you right! It simply makes you old!"

"Ouch…" Damon sneered, finishing off his drink in one last gulp.

"Same goes for you!" Jeremy turned around to look at Damon irritated, ignoring the little voice that was screeching inside his head, trying to force him to shut up. "You kill people because it's easy for you! That way you can show how tough you are! While in the nights you get drunk and cry over your dead friend and some woman that never loved you! You both damaged! You don't get to decide for me! Deal with your own issues!" Jeremy shouted, louder than ever and stormed outside the living room, leaving the two Salvatore brothers looking completely dumbstruck.


	16. Partner in Crime

Kylie showed up at school on Wednesday. She found Jeremy sitting by himself in the cafeteria during lunch time, head down working on his "Mr. Bell stalking" schedule. He was so busy he didn't even notice the girl until she sat down next to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked peeking over his shoulder to look at his notebook.

"Homework" said Jeremy defensively putting it back in his bag. "Didn't expect to see you today"

"Yeah, I had a food poisoning, turns out you were right about those potato chips" said Kylie moodily.

"Oh…" Jeremy jumped up happily. Kylie was sick! Of course Kylie was sick! That's why she was missing school, not necessarily because she blurted out everything to her parents!

"Okay, don't look so happy about it" said Kylie irritated by the smile drawn on Jeremy's face.

"I'm sorry, I'm not happy…food poisoning sucks" said Jeremy in a hurry, trying to wipe the satisfied expression off his face.

"So…did you find out anything new about Mr. Bell?" asked Kylie plainly, taking a bite of her apple.

Jeremy froze for a few seconds.

"What?" Kylie looked up at him, "don't tell me you didn't even try to find more about what he doing that night"

"Well….did you…did you by any chance, mentioned…" Jeremy started but Kylie silenced him with a look.

"Tell my parents?" she finished his sentence for him, "of course not. They are pretty cool when it comes to other people's life choices but I don't think they would appreciate their only child having a history teacher who spends his free time doing voodoo rituals in the middle of a very creepy forest" Kylie gave a shudder, "why? Did you tell yours?"

"Sure and right after that we shared some ice-cubes from hell" said Jeremy shaking his head, he didn't even want to think what would happen to him in case Damon or Stefan were to find out he didn't tell them about Mr. Bell.

"Oh and once we are on the subject, I think you would like to have this back" Kylie pulled Jeremy's ring from the inside pocket of her sweater and placed it carefully on the table. "I don't know why, but it made me feel safe that night"

Jeremy looked down at the ring, the one so many generations of his family wore before him. "It's okay, you can keep it" he said dryly, looking away from it.

Kylie eyed Jeremy's face for a few seconds as if trying to read his mind.

"No, you should have it. It looks important"

"Yeah, it's family heritage" Jeremy muttered.

"Then I definitely can't take it, here" Kylie took the ring and forced it in Jeremy's finger. "Now it looks right"

Having his ring back was as if relief seeped through his entire body. Lately his relation with Damon and Stefan had been slightly more heated than usual, especially after his little melt down the atmosphere inside the Salvatore boarding house had become rather tense. Stefan was barely speaking to him anymore, usually only to remind him to call Elena, choosing the silent treatment as a form of punishment. Unlike Stefan, Damon had found a more _productive_ way to release his negative energy towards Jeremy. Part from forcing him out in the cold at four o'clock in the morning and making him run pointlessly for hours around the Salvatore property, Damon recently added boxing in Jeremy's daily training sessions. Normally Jeremy would be ecstatic about finally having to learn something as useful as boxing, if only Damon didn't use it as an excuse to smack him in the face every five seconds.

"So, tell me, what did you find out so far?" Kylie's voice jerked him out of his thoughts.

Jeremy hesitated. Kylie was just some girl he knew for less than a month, how could he trust her with his plan? But on the other hand, he could certainly use a partner in crime and as long as she kept her mouth shut and didn't put her life in danger, there was no harm into having somebody helping him.

"Well…there is not much, he is kind of boring" Jeremy opened his bag and pulled back the same notebook Kylie caught him staring at. He went fast through the pages and stopped somewhere in the middle of it. "So he lives a little out of town, alone, no wife, no kids…surprising I know…umm he almost never leaves his house expect from once a day, always at eight o'clock he goes to the market, always buys shampoo…no idea what he does with it"

"That's…very…interesting" Kylie yawned.

"Actually there is something interesting" Jeremy continued indignantly. "Every time I see him he is always holding this journal, like some sort of an agenda"

Kylie sat up and stared thoughtfully at her apple, "you think there is a chance we could _borrow_ that agenda?" she asked interestedly.

Jeremy shook his head, "I tried but he won't leave it down for a second"

"Then it must be really important" said Kylie decisively, "we need to get this agenda"

* * *

Jeremy's training sessions were going from bad to worse. There was no part of his body that didn't ache from the hundreds of miles that he ran and the countless hours of beatings he received in the last few days.

Damon didn't feel particularly in mood to break the deal so he kept training him, doing everything in his power to force him to quit and truth be told, Jeremy was almost there. Every night he was going to bed with the same thought of quitting, but every day after seeing Damon's irritating smirk as he was looking down at him, made his determination grow; he wouldn't give Damon the pleasure to get rid of him so fast.

"Bent your knees for better balance, you stand like a girl" Damon grabbed both of Jeremy's shoulders and pushed him down.

"I stand like you told me to stand" Jeremy muttered through clenched teeth.

"Stop talking. Now that hand" Damon seized the boy's left arm, "is supposed to guard your face, or else" he said, slapping Jeremy sideways with his own hand. "Keep your arms straight and your chin down, you're making this way too easy" Damon proved his point with another smack to the head.

"Will you stop punching me?!" Jeremy snarled, pulling away from Damon.

"Isn't that the point of boxing?" said Damon, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"The point is to teach me how to punch you back!" said Jeremy angrily, wiping some blood from his down lip with the back of his hand.

"It hurts me more than it hurts you, Jer" said Damon with a smirk.

"No it doesn't!" said Jeremy bitterly.

"You right, it doesn't but you see…"

Jeremy tried to catch Damon off-guard with a punch while he was still talking, horribly underestimating the vampire reflexes. The vampire seized his arm and next thing he knew, Damon had him in a grip so tight, he could barely breathe.

"I think we are done for today" said Damon as if nothing happened, still holding Jeremy, his hand at the boy's throat.

"I agree" said Jeremy in a chocked voice.

Jeremy ran upstairs to his room; before Stefan had the chance to take a glimpse of him all muddy and covered in blood. He had a quick shower, got dressed for school and went down in the kitchen.

Damon and Stefan were both seated at the counter, glaring in opposite directions. Expect from being mad at Jeremy, for some reason the two Salvatore brothers had decided to be pissed at each other as well. Stefan thought that Jeremy's angry speech was in fact Damon's words and had everything to do with Damon's inability to be a proper role model for the young boy. While Damon in the other hand believed that Stefan was an idiot who made a big deal out of everything and nothing would have happened in the first place if it wasn't for all his stupid terms.

"Good morning, gentlemen" said Jeremy happily, trying his best to get on Stefan's last nerve.

There was no answer. The only sound was coming out of Damon's newspaper as he turned the pages warily.

"Stefan, not speaking to me is not a punishment, it's a Christmas miracle!" Jeremy shouted, waving his hands in front of Stefan's face, who completely ignored him. "Okay…as you wish" he pulled himself away from Stefan, feeling slightly disappointed. The first couple of days were he could scream anything he wanted in Stefan's face without getting instantly killed, certainly had their fun, now it was just getting old.

"Nice talking to you as always, we should do this more often" said Jeremy in an overly polite tone, patting Stefan's shoulder, "but I'm going to school" he announced, "so, be good and try not to murder each other while I'm gone" he added, very much enjoying the current situation, even though it was the main reason of having the eighty percent of his body covered in bruises.

"I see you're wearing your ring, so don't push it" said Damon calmly, speaking to his newspaper, but making sure Jeremy that heard him.

That day was supposed to be exciting; it was the day he and Kylie would finally put their plan to work about stealing Mr. Bell's agenda from the inside of his office. They were planning it for days over lunch time and after school during detention, where Kylie volunteered herself in by _accidently_ throwing a cupcake at Mr. Bell's head.

"Are you in love with me Gilbert?" Mr. Bell grunted, after Jeremy had spent half the time glaring intently at him and listening raptly to his every word.

A little laugh spread around the classroom.

"Umm…no, not really" said Jeremy, managing to keep a straight face as Mr. Bell leaned over his desk, going for a straight eye contact.

"Then stop looking at me!" Mr. Bell leered unpleasantly at him, before turning back to his blackboard.

At the end of third period, Jeremy and Kylie got separated, each going to a different classroom but soon got reunited again, with Jeremy faking a headache to get a pass out of Math class and Kylie sneaking carefully out of P.E. They met each other in the middle of the second floor, right outside Mr. Bell's office.

They were two seconds away from turning the doorknob, when Mr. Bell's voice came from inside. The two kids immediately set off at a run and hid themselves at the end of the corridor.

"Why is he here?" said Kylie in a loud whisper. They've spent days spying on the teacher, they practically memorized his whole program. He was not supposed to be in his office, he had a class downstairs with the seniors. "What do we do? Should we come back later?"

"No" said Jeremy determinately, "we need to get him out of there"

"How?" Kylie cried, looking around impatiently.

"You go in there, say somebody is looking for him"

"Why me?" Kylie bit her down lip.

"Because he will never believe me if I go"

Despite how much Kylie didn't want to face Mr. Bell by herself, she seemed to agree with Jeremy on that one. She nodded Jeremy good luck, drew a deep breath as if preparing herself for a dive and walked back to the office. She knocked on the door and without expecting an answer got inside quickly. Jeremy stood at the end of the corridor waiting, as Kylie emerged from behind the door only a couple minutes later, followed by a harassed looking Mr. Bell.

Jeremy didn't stop to think this through, once the man and the girl went out of sight, he dashed forward and got inside the office before he attracted any unwanted attention from the teachers and the rest of the school staff.

It was a small, dark room with shut windows, and the suffocating smell of cigars coming from every corner of the walls surrounding him, but besides the smell everything looked spotless in a way that would make even the biggest OCD freak like Damon feel proud.

Jeremy ran to the desk and started going through Mr. Bell's stuff, trying to move less noticeable things.

If it was Damon he would probably had hid it in the book shelves. He liked hiding things where they blend with the environment, "its right in front of them, they can see it but they don't know it" Damon would say "it's like a little private joke"

"What the hell…?" he muttered as his eye took a glimpse of what appeared to be a phrase carved on the inside of the first desk drawer. Jeremy tried to read it but he had never seen this kind of alphabet before in his life, expect maybe in some sort of history book he didn't bother to pay attention to. He pulled out his mobile and took a picture of the phrase before shutting the drawer close.

He kept digging through Mr. Bell's books and spare papers, all placed in a great order, but the journal didn't appear to be there.

'_He must have taken it with him_' Jeremy thought, looking hopefully behind the canvas of a portrait.

It's been a little less than ten minutes, any second now Mr. Bell would figure out that nobody was in fact waiting for him and after telling Kylie off he would come straight back to his office. There was no time for him to do anything, but he wasn't going to leave empty handed either.

* * *

"Did you get it?" asked Kylie in a tense voice, after meeting Jeremy downstairs. Her face was red and she looked disturbed and ready to punch somebody really hard in the face. "Please tell me you got it" she almost cried.

"I didn't get it… it wasn't there, he must have put it back in his briefcase" said Jeremy, "but I got the second best thing" he added quickly, as Kylie's head was about to explode.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

Jeremy put his hand in the back pocked of his jeans and pulled a small pair of silver keys, "I got the keys to his house"


	17. Breaking And Entering

"After school I'm going to study with a friend" Jeremy announced during breakfast.

Stefan, who was still refusing to talk to him, let out a derisive snort. Damon too raised his eyebrows and shot Jeremy a look of utmost amusement.

"If you are going to lie, at least have the decency to come up with a good one"

"I'm not lying" said Jeremy defensively, setting down his toast to stare indignantly at Damon and Stefan, who wore the same mocking expression on their faces. The boy blinked twice at that discovery, as this had to be the first time he realized Damon and Stefan were truly related.

"Since when do you study on Fridays?" asked Stefan, folding his arms.

"And since when do you have friends?" Damon added, with a smirk.

"Ever since I was forced to make a B average to drive _my_ car" said Jeremy, casting Stefan a dark look before his eyes turn back and rest on Damon, "and for your information, I have friends, not that's any of your business"

"Oh really?" Damon laughed, "You do know imaginary friends don't count, right?"

"Her name is Kylie" said Jeremy heatedly, "you've met her" he added hurriedly.

All of the sudden Damon's face hardened and Jeremy could almost feel himself going red, as Damon examined him closely.

"Cute, blond girl from the woods? The one you gave your ring to?" asked Damon in a strange voice.

"Woods? What woods?" Stefan interrupted and looked around at Jeremy for some kind of explanation, but Jeremy turned the other way pretending not to see him.

"That would be the one" he said doggedly, avoiding Stefan's glare, still seeking for an answer to his question.

Damon stood up from his chair for no apparent reason. "You're not going" he said sharply, there was finality in his tone.

"Why not?" Jeremy snarled, him too springing up to his feet but keeping a fair distance between his neck and Damon's reach.

"Because I said so"

"That isn't even a real answer!" said Jeremy angrily, trying to keep his tones down, knowing very well from previous experiences that the more he yelled, the less chances he had to get what he wanted. "Plus, I wasn't asking for your permission. Kylie and I have been assigned a _history_ project together and we have to do it, _unless_ you want me to fail a class" his voice sounding stronger and more confident now.

"Then why don't you study here?" Stefan suggested, scanning Jeremy's face for the slightest hint of guilt.

Jeremy gulped. "Because…" he muttered.

"Unless you want to do something else, something you are not telling us" Stefan spared him the trouble of finding a convincing explanation.

"No" Jeremy lied at once, trying not to blink.

"Good, then study here"

To Jeremy's great displeasure, Damon seemed to for once agree with Stefan's idea.

"Since we wouldn't want you to fail a class"

Jeremy fell silent for a few seconds, forming a plan inside his head, very much aware of the time ticking against him.

"Okay" he said finally, managing to sound not even half as miserable as he felt.

* * *

"I need your help, I screwed up" Jeremy ran toward Kylie, the moment he saw her sitting by herself at the school's parking lot. She looked pale and sick, with dark circles under her eyes and messy hair as if just got out of bed. "Can you come to my house after school? I sort of lied we are having a history project together"

Kylie nodded distractedly and kept biting her fingernails.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy leaned closer, looking at her cautiously.

The last remaining color faded off her cheeks within seconds, as she stopped biting her nails and sighed. "Are we seriously breaking into Mr. Bell's house?"

"That is the plan…"

"But what if we get caught?" Kylie interrupted with a shriek.

"Then we are doomed" said Jeremy shortly, "If you don't want to come, it's more than okay" he added quickly, realizing this was not a good time for jokes.

Kylie's face changed again in a split second, her pale cheeks suddenly redden as she puffed up indignantly, "what are you crazy?" she said rather aggressively, "Of course I'll come. Somebody needs to save your ass when you get caught"

Jeremy laughed and went after her inside the school.

"So, why am I coming to your house today?" asked Kylie, reminding nothing of the scared little girl she was five minutes ago.

"Well I was trying to let them know I'll stay out late, and somehow I ended up talking about a history project we've been assigned together" said Jeremy, pretending to stab himself with an invisible knife.

"History project?" Kylie laughed, "at least you didn't have to lie"

At the end of last period, Jeremy ran quickly to the parking lot where he was supposed to meet Kylie. They were driving to his house and agreed on spending there the next few hours pretending to study, in order for Jeremy to get all the suspicion off his back, before trying to break into Mr. Bell's apartment.

"Is that your car?" he asked, watching Kylie open the door of a small, red truck. "I thought you won't get your license until next semester"

"Yeah, but I asked my dad to borrow his car for today. We could use a ride to Mr. Bell's house" said Kylie proudly, turning the engine on.

"Great, I now like your dad more than Damon and Stefan put together" said Jeremy bitterly, sitting at the front seat.

"Are they still not letting drive the car?" Kylie leaned over the wheel, trapping it in a bear hug, giving Jeremy the immediate impression she had no clue on how to drive.

Jeremy looked at her as if her question was completely unnecessary. "_According to term number twelve, I'm expected to pull a B average to pursue the privilege of driving_" said Jeremy in a mocking, Stefan-ish tone. "I haven't had a B since fifth grade"

"I could help you with that" said Kylie, pulling her eyes from the road to look at Jeremy. Jeremy threw himself toward the girl and caught the wheel on the last second before they crash into sign.

"Thanks, but can you please look at where you're driving!" Jeremy fell back into his seat breathing hard, as Kylie kept driving, her hands slightly shaking.

"Sorry…" she muttered, this time eyes glued upfront, "but I did mean it. I mostly have all A's, I could help you"

"All A's?" Jeremy repeated with surprise. "I mean yeah, thanks, but I think I can manage" he shrugged.

Kylie went through the Salvatore driveway and parked her father's truck next to Stefan's silver car. The two kids exchanged a look of mutual awkwardness and stepped out in the garden path.

Hoping that Damon was outside, Jeremy opened the front door of the Salvatore boarding house and pulled Kylie in, pushing her toward the staircase.

"Let's go to my room" he whispered.

Jeremy's foot barely touched the first step of the staircase when a familiar voice called him from the living room.

"Well isn't that rude? Jeremy, where are your manners?" In one swift moment, Damon had crossed the room and was standing in front of the two kids, his mouth curled into a sarcastic grin. "We didn't raise you that way"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. He had expected this; of course Damon would hate losing a chance to embarrass him in front of Kylie, but unfortunately that didn't make it any more enjoyable.

"Damon Salvatore" Damon introduced himself, holding out a hand. "We haven't officially met"

"Kylie…" Kylie muttered, as she was shaking Damon's hand, "Kylie Atkins"

"Right" said Jeremy hurriedly, pulling Kylie away from Damon, "As I told you earlier this morning, we need to study"

"Study? Of course" Damon laughed, "what else can a sixteen year old do in his room with a cute girl if not study?"

Jeremy stared at Damon, his eyes narrowed in intense dislike.

"Right" he breathed and indicated Kylie to follow him.

"Make sure you study with the door open" Damon shouted after them, once the two kids reached the end of the hallway.

* * *

They stayed up in Jeremy's room for the next three hours, texting each other about the last plan details, and the things they expected to find in Mr. Bell's house, (Kylie suggested that his house was built in Native American burial grounds and Jeremy was convinced about a torture room, identical to Klaus') occasionally going through Kylie's history book, since Jeremy lost his and speaking loudly about the project they were supposedly working on, making sure Damon could hear them.

"It's time" Jeremy whispered in a voice so low, Kylie had to read his lips.

She glanced over at the watch on his wrist and cleared her throat with a small cough, "Oh my, I forgot the rest of the information about world war one in my house, it has the battle of Iwo Jima and everything, can you come over to my place?" she said, reading from a piece of paper the conversation they scripted hours ago.

"I'd like to, but I should probably ask Damon first" said Jeremy loudly, in a voice that sounded nothing like his own.

"Good, let's go ask" said Kylie fighting down a laugh.

They both stood up and crept downstairs. Damon wasn't in the living room or the kitchen; Jeremy finally found him in the study, barely visible behind a pile of books.

"You can go" he said, before Jeremy even got the chance to open his mouth.

"Thanks!" The boy grinned happily and walked back to the door, thinking how unusually easy that was.

Damon used his vampire speed and before Jeremy could realize it, the man was standing before him. He seized Jeremy's hand and forced it in front of the boys' face

"If I find out you took that ring off again, I will shove down your throat" he said threateningly ahead, his eyes gleaming in the dim light "did I make myself clear?"

"Crystal" Jeremy gulped, looking Damon in the eye.

Damon let go of his arm and lightly patted the boy on the cheek, "have fun" he said and retreated to his seat.

Jeremy wheeled around and was about to go out the door when Damon's voice stopped him one more time.

"World war one, huh?"

"Yeah…" Jeremy agreed vaguely.

"Then maybe you should rethink writing about the battle of Iwo Jima" said Damon in a casual tone.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows, "why?"

"Because it wasn't in it" Even though Damon's face wasn't visible behind the books surrounding him, Jeremy could tell he was smiling.

"Oh…" the boy stood very still, fighting down the desire to face-palm himself "that's awesome, one less battle to study about" he said in one breath and went out the door before Damon could stop him again.

* * *

It was eight o'clock and as every day at that time, Mr. Bell left his house to run errands. Kylie and Jeremy were waiting, hidden behind a trashcan, Kylie's truck parked almost a mile away.

Jeremy looked at the houses around, making sure nobody was watching and dashed forward. He jumped over the locked gate and stood on the porch. Kylie followed him, "this is wrong, this is wrong, this is so wrong!" she was ranting, as Jeremy put the key inside the lock and pushed the door open with a small creak. He moved aside and let Kylie go through first, still humming.

Jeremy kicked the door shut behind him and took a second to look around. At first sight everything seemed normal, almost too normal. Like his office, everything was clean, placed in a great order, but there was a sense that something was really wrong. Being in quite a few of those unfortunate situations before, Jeremy had developed some sort of an alarm inside his head, that was used to inform him whenever he was in deep trouble and this had to be one of those moments.

"Something is wrong" Jeremy muttered to himself, walking between the living room and the kitchen area.

"You mean part from breaking and entering a teacher's house" said Kylie lightly.

"Don't you notice something weird?" Jeremy insisted.

Kylie looked around, "It smells funny" she commented, sniffing the walls, trying to figure out where the smell of cigars was coming from.

"No, I mean look at the living room" Jeremy pointed at a small, open space. "The cushions are all straightened, his DVDs are alphabetically sorted, and even his TV is dusted!"

Kylie wasn't looking at the living room; she was staring at Jeremy with her mouth slightly open. "Okay, he likes things clean, he is a criminal"

"Exactly!" Jeremy jumped up, "he likes things clean, now look at his kitchen" he turned left and pointed at the corner of the same room, where there was a small kitchen. "There are leftovers everywhere, dirty dishes at the sink and I bet you can find a rat somewhere in the cupboards"

This time Kylie rolled her eyes, slightly losing her temper, "did we seriously break inside his house to judge his cleaning habits?"

"Don't you get it? It's like two separate people live here" Jeremy kept pointing from the living room to the kitchen.

"But that doesn't make any sense, you said he lives alone" said Kylie, her heart racing.

"That's what I thought…"


	18. The Vampire the Teacher and the Wardrobe

"Are you trying to say somebody is in this house, as in right now?" Kylie said uneasily.

The boy shifted his shoulders and looked around the room as if he expected to see somebody enter.

A little thud from upstairs made them both jump. Jeremy pressed his hand against Kylie's lips preventing her from screaming.

"Stay here" he whispered and before Kylie had time to argue, he moved toward the staircase, out to investigate the course of the noise. His head jerked upwards and stared through the gap, before slowly mounting the stairs.

For a few seconds he didn't move at all, he simply stood on the last step, glancing carefully around, his heart pounding in his throat. As far as he could see, everything seemed deserted and the noise must have come from the air that roughly opened the window of the hallway. He walked to the window and closed it with a sigh.

"It's clear" said Jeremy, hoping he wasn't getting ahead of himself. "We should split, I'll take upstairs"

"Are you crazy?!" he heard Kylie barking at him. "Don't you watch horror films? Splitting is _never_ a good idea!"

"It will be faster" said Jeremy looking at Kylie over the banister, before walking to the door that was nearer to him. He held his breath and still not completely convinced that they were alone in the house, he opened the door. It was the bathroom. He pulled the door shut and moved to the one by the end of the hallway.

For a second he thought about leaving; take Kylie and run somewhere safe and never think twice about this place, about Mr. Bell and the things he saw that night. But he immediately regret it and pushed the door open, slightly ashamed of his moment of panic.

If somebody had told him a week ago that the time would come when he would be voluntarily standing in the middle of Mr. Bell's bedroom, he would never believe it, but here he was…staring at the pale green walls of what appeared to be his history teacher's bedroom. On the plus side, the house was truly empty, meaning that even if Jeremy's theory about Mr. Bell having a roommate was right, he was probably away at that moment.

"Did you find anything?" said Kylie from behind the boy, with a moan of longing.

Jeremy jumped up letting out a small gasp, "don't do that!" he said looking angrily at Kylie. "And no…did you?"

"No, but you were right about one thing…I did find a rat in one of his cupboards…not my brightest moment" said Kylie with a shudder.

"If you were a creepy teacher, where would you hide your incriminating journal?" asked Jeremy thoughtfully, rummaging through the drawers.

"Probably in a place where my creepy students wouldn't be able to find it" Kylie replied, looking under the bed.

There's been twenty minutes and the longer they were searching the more anxious they became. The time was ticking against them and with every moment passing, they could both feel the knot in their throats getting bigger and bigger, turning every breath into a challenge.

Jeremy was pacing around the room, looking at the watch on his wrist, while Kylie was standing inside the wardrobe going through some coats. They were both disappointed from the lack of findings, waiting from the other to say the words...

"We should go. He'll be back soon" said Kylie in a small voice, getting out of the wardrobe where she found nothing more than clothes and dust.

Jeremy nodded and looked around the room for one last time, before going after Kylie, when all of the sudden the floor underneath his foot gave a small creak. Feeling an unexpected rush of hope, Jeremy kneeled down and knocked several times on the wooden floor with his fist. It was the same hollow sound he heard before.

"I'll get a knife" said Kylie and quickly ran downstairs. She was back only a couple minutes later, holding a small kitchen knife. Jeremy snatched it off her hand, pressed the edge against the loose plank and pulled it carefully. There was another creak, and the plank was out revealing what seemed to be a small hole, big enough to fit a journal.

Jeremy put his entire arm in pulled out the very familiar journal he saw Mr. Bell carrying around, countless of times.

"You are abnormally good at this" said Kylie looking at Jeremy with nothing less but fervent admiration.

Still unable to believe in his good luck, Jeremy took out his mobile and hurriedly started taking pictures of every page of the journal. He was going through the pages so fast there was not enough time to pay attention to the details of the content. It was an old journal filled with sketches, all representing stakes, vampires and the sun. This was all that Jeremy had hoped for and even more.

"Uh-oh…" Kylie backed away against the wall, looking faintly out the window.

Jeremy ignored her, flipping carefully through the pages, taking pictures nonstop from his mobile.

"Jeremy" Kylie moaned into his ear but again Jeremy didn't even turn to look at her. She finally had to punch him in the arm to get his attention.

"What?!" Jeremy barked, rubbing his arm.

Kylie pointed a shaking finger at the direction of the window, "Isn't that Mr. Bell's car?"

Jeremy looked down and what he saw made his stomach contract. Right outside the house, besides the trashcan he and Kylie were hiding only minutes ago, was parked Mr. Bell's white SUV, even though his owner didn't appear to be inside.

"Okay" said Jeremy, sounding very calm, "we are not in that much trouble"

The entrance door crackled open as he spoke, making them both jump backwards.

"Are we in trouble now?" said Kylie tremulously.

Jeremy made a valiant effort to say no, but the word refused to get out of his mouth.

"We are going to be fine" he said instead and quickly opened the window forcing his head out. "Have you ever climbed on a roof before?" He asked getting his head back inside.

"No…" Kylie muttered.

"First time for everything" Jeremy grabbed her gently by the arm and helped her to the window. "Try to not look down, but even if you fall it's not that high, so don't worry" he was saying, as Kylie was climbing out the window.

"Where are you going?" she whispered angrily, standing carefully on the exterior sill, barely able to hold herself from falling.

Jeremy ran off to the bed were he left the journal and his mobile and continued taking pictures of the rest of the pages on Mr. Bell's journal, as nothing ever happened.

"I'm not leaving you here!" Kylie cried, holding herself up.

"We didn't come here for nothing, I'll be right behind you" said Jeremy in a voice so low, Kylie almost didn't hear a word. "Go!"

She looked several times at Jeremy, silent tears streaming down her eyes before slowly starting to climb up the roof.

Jeremy was almost done, when a familiar name caught his eye. Under a big drawn out tree, there it was written in big, black letters **_Mikaelson_**, the name of all Original vampires, right next to the same phrase he saw carved a few days ago inside Mr. Bell's office.

He heard steps coming from the stairs, but his thirst for information wouldn't let him move. He stayed there staring at the name, the tree and the phrase, trying to make sense out of everything. The footsteps kept coming nearer and nearer, he could almost hear Mr. Bell's breath as he was walking toward the bedroom. Jeremy snapped the journal shut and carefully placed it back inside the hole, covering it with the spare plank. He could see the doorknob turn; there was not enough time for him to get out.

He stared wildly around the room for a place to hide, when his eye caught the wardrobe, which looked almost like the one in Narnia, Jeremy would think if he wasn't in such a hurry. He immediately got inside and held his breath, trying to ease his heartbeat.

Mr. Bell stepped inside the room only seconds later. Jeremy could hear him stumbling forward, moving toward the loose plank. He pulled it open and grabbed the journal out of the hole.

"I can't find it" Mr. Bell broke off, speaking to somebody standing opposite him.

Jeremy pressed his ear against the wall, as he opened the door an inch or two and listened closely, frowning with concentration. From where he was standing he couldn't see anyone but Mr. Bell, although he could listen to a second man's voice. It was a weak sort of rumble of unfamiliar words, coming out what had to be a very sick person.

Mr. Bell paced around the room, listening raptly to the other man, he had a strange, dazed look about him but he sure wasn't compelled. In fact, Jeremy had just started to wonder if he ever was compelled. He clearly knew everything about vampires, he knew about the Originals and the way they were created, he wasn't just a pawn as Jeremy thought this whole time. He was a lot more dangerous than he gave him credit for and now he started to wish he was not stuck inside this man's house.

The voice kept talking, only this time his tone was strict and sharp, like Damon when he was giving out orders. He could tell Mr. Bell did not agree with half the things the voice was saying, he looked almost scared but there was also some sort of determination, the kind that gives you no choice.

Suddenly the voice stopped and silence filled the room. Jeremy moved backwards and pressed his hand against his mouth, so nobody could hear him breathe.

"Why don't you say hello to your guest?" said the voice in fluent English, his tone sounding amused.

Jeremy's eyes widened with terror. Mr. Bell was looking at the exact direction he was standing, as if he could see through the door.

_I need a miracle, I need a miracle, I need a miracle_, he was screaming inside his head, shooting furtive looks at the immortality ring on his finger, as Mr. Bell creepily advanced toward his hide out.

_I need a miracle, I need a miracle, I need a miracle…_

**BANG! **

The sound of a shattering glass came from outside, followed by the loudest, most amazing car alarm Jeremy had ever heard. Mr. Bell jumped to the window, staring at the street and quickly dashed out of the room, having realized it was his car being vandalized.

Without wasting time to think this through, Jeremy ripped the door open, ran out in the hallway and climbed through the back window. He looked down and after taking a deep, calming breath he jumped down to the side yard of Mr. Bell's house. Luckily he fell onto some bushes, cutting down the speed of his fall.

He heard his leg crack, but he didn't have time to worry about it now. He lay down on the ground and waited hidden in the bushes for a whole ten minutes, until Mr. Bell got back inside his house; he then set off at a ran, ignoring the breath taking pain on his right ankle.

"Gilbert!" he heard a voice calling after him. Jeremy stopped dead in the middle of the street. He slowly turned around, trying to avoid stepping on his ankle.

"What did you do to his car?" he asked Kylie, forcing a painful smile to his face.

"Threw a rock at it, took me three times to a get the windshield…" Kylie gave an evil laugh, coming his way. "What happened to you?" she asked, letting Jeremy lean over her shoulder.

"Jumped from the window…"

Kylie let out a terrified gasp. "Should I get you to a hospital?"

"No…I'll be fine" said Jeremy weakly.

Kylie helped him back to her truck, slightly regretting her decision of parking it so far from Mr. Bell's house.

"So, he knew you were there?" she asked, her hands shaking while she was driving. "Did he see you?"

"No, but he knew _somebody was_ there" Jeremy panted, massaging carefully his leg. "Wait, where are we going?" he asked, pulling himself up to look at the road.

"The hospital" Kylie replied shortly, turning blind eye to Jeremy's complaining.

"Didn't we just agree? _No hospitals_"

"Yes and that was before your leg started to swallow. Quit being a baby, I'm taking you to a hospital" she said decisively, silencing him with a look.

Jeremy sighed and looked down at his leg. Damon would never leave him out of the house again.

* * *

Limping all the way to the hospital reception, Jeremy leaned over the desk and stared at a woman in a pink uniform and the tag 'Mary Jenkins' hanging from her chest.

"Hi, is Doctor Fell here?" he asked with a groan, the pain in his leg unbearable now that the adrenaline had completely left his system.

"Yes, I'm going to call her right now. Have a sit" she added nervously, picking up the phone.

Meredith came rushing to them a few minutes later.

"Jeremy…?" she asked disbelievingly, eyeing the boy warily "are you alright?"

"Never been better! If I was alright, why would I be here?" said Jeremy scathingly, very much aware that the pain made him sound like a jerk.

"What appears to be the problem?" Meredith folded her arms, mostly speaking to Kylie.

"I think he broke his ankle…" said Kylie quickly, before Jeremy had the chance to say something very rude.

Meredith nodded, "Take Mr. Gilbert in for some x-rays" she spoke to a woman passing, her too dressed in the same pink uniform.

This was not the first time Jeremy was lying in a hospital bed. Both his parents used to be a little overprotective and even though his own father happened to be a doctor, he was sent to the hospital every other day for minor falls and cuts that could be simply treated with a piece of bandage. This behavior used to drive him crazy as a kid, but now the time had come when he could admit missing it.

"Would you like me to call Damon?" asked Meredith, looking closely at Jeremy's x-ray results.

"No!" Jeremy yelled so abruptly, Meredith dropped her glasses. "Sorry…I mean it though, don't call him"

Meredith shot him a quizzical look and picked up her glasses from the floor. "Well, good news is: it's not broken, only dislocated"

"And bad news is…?" Jeremy waited.

"No bad news. You see the surgeon, he puts it back into place, we get you all pumped up with painkillers and you are good to go home" Meredith explained with an indulgent smile, "which is why I think I should call Damon to pick you up"

"It's okay, my friend will drive me" Jeremy pointed at Kylie, who was waiting right outside the room.

It was pretty obvious that Meredith didn't agree with this idea but she said nothing about it.

* * *

"You're late" Stefan's voice came from the living room, clearly dropping the whole silent treatment punishment and choosing to return to his old, active and annoying self.

"Nobody told me what time to be back, so technically, I'm not late" said Jeremy brightly, his head spinning from all the painkillers he consumed in the last twenty minutes.

"What's wrong with your leg?" Damon raised his eyebrows looking at Jeremy's crutches.

Jeremy opened his mouth but the words he gathered simply refused to come out.

"I tripped" he said finally.

"Let's pretend that's true" said Damon wearily, clearly not in mood to interrogate the boy, unlike Stefan who was seemingly trying to make up for all the lost time.

"Where were you?" Stefan asked, keeping his tone in a friendly mode, helping Jeremy to the couch.

For once again, Jeremy opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Where were you?" Stefan repeated, his voice calm but this time slightly more commanding.

"I was at Kylie's house" said Jeremy, surprised as to how natural his voice sounded, almost as if he was telling the truth. He placed his foot over a pillow Damon gave him and despite himself stared at the brothers with the eyes of an innocent child.

"Should we take him to Meredith?" Stefan turned to Damon, who kept scanning the boy.

"Ha! Been there, done that!" Jeremy snapped his fingers excitedly, "where do you think the crutches came from?"

"Are you high?" Stefan leaned closer and grabbed Jeremy's face with both hands. "Is that how you broke your leg?"

"Dislocated and its painkillers" Jeremy explained with a little laugh, "They're the beeest!"

"At least he is happy" Damon shrugged.

"Of course I'm, but can I have some vampire blood now? I'm tired…" Jeremy whined, trying to pull himself up, but Stefan held him down.

"It's not a cough syrup you idiot. We are not going to give you vampire blood for every paper cut that you get" Damon shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Are you guys serious? This might take weeks to heal!" Jeremy kept trying to get up.

"Might teach you to think twice before _tripping_ next time" said Damon evenly.

"And what am I supposed to do about…" Jeremy was a second away before bringing up the forbidden in this house word '_training_', when his eye caught Stefan and his presence.

"About what?" Stefan's eyes moving back and forth, from Damon to Jeremy.

"P.E" Jeremy blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"You worry about P.E?" Stefan asked frowning with disbelief.

"It's an important class" said Jeremy innocently.

"I haven't seen you there once"

"That's because I like to keep low profile" Jeremy said sarcastically, "Are we done here? Can I go to my room now?"

Stefan nodded and helped him up to his feet. He wrapped an arm around the boy's waist, but Jeremy pushed him aside.

"I can do it myself" he said stubbornly and limped slowly out of the living room, the two Salvatore brothers staring after him.


	19. The Talk

Sitting in front of his computer with his leg lift up high over a pack of ice, Jeremy was going through the pictures he took that day of Mr. Bell's journal, thinking that none of the things inside that journal could have be written by him. It was a little book filled with information about vampirism, vivid sketches of the human-vampire transformation and what Jeremy guessed to be a daylight-ring spell.

"_This is a real vampire 101_" Jeremy muttered under his breath. Why would Mr. Bell want to know everything that there is to know about vampires? Was he trying to be a vampire, or protect one?

Jeremy skipped two pictures (first representing the werewolf bite and the other the effects of vervain) and focused on the one that grabbed his attention while he was still in his teacher's house. He stared closely at the tree and read a few times the name of the original family before his glare turn to the phrase. He quickly opened Google and typed 'foreign alphabets' on the search line and scrolled carefully down the results, until his eyes stopped at an alphabet that seemed familiar to him. He looked back at the phrase and made the match.

"Ancient Greek it is…" Jeremy rubbed his eyes, exhausted. "Perfect" he turned uncomfortably onto his seat, pressing the print button on the whole page about Ancient Greek.

It was nearly three o'clock in the morning and his eyes started to slide out of focus; if he was going to pull an all-nighter as planned, he would certainly need some coffee. He got up to his feet and slowly limped to the hallway, carefully jumping down the stairs on his good leg.

He finally made his way down and was about to move toward the kitchen, when he heard the crackle of the fire coming from the living room. The lights were shut and the room was dark, not allowing him to peek inside but even then it didn't take him long enough to understand what was going on. This was not the first time Jeremy had stumbled across on one of Damon's after midnight pity-parties, but he was keeping his fingers crossed to this be his last. He turned right around and tiptoed to the kitchen, not wanting to provoke Damon in his time of grief, having experienced the consequences in the past.

"How is your leg?" Damon's voice came unexpectedly from the living room.

Jeremy stopped dead at the kitchen entrance, surprised as to how sober Damon sounded. He turned on his heel and limped toward the living room.

"It's okay…" he said warily, standing on the threshold.

Damon was sitting on the couch and clenching a glass of bourbon. His pale blue eyes staring blankly into the fire, looking like a perfect mess of guilt and self-hatred, making even Jeremy feel a little sorry for him.

"Though, I could still use that vampire blood…" Jeremy added keenly and stumbled forward to the couch, right next to Damon.

The sides of Damon's lips curled into a tight smile, but made no answer. He was swaying slightly out of the couch, staring closely into the fire as if trying to find something very important, something that he lost a long time ago.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked fondly, eyes still turned away from the boy.

"I was…" Jeremy started but Damon cut him off with a shifty glare.

"Jer, I can hear everything you do" Damon stated.

Jeremy blinked twice, waving aside the creepiness of that thought. "I was working on a very important history project" he said with complete honestly this time.

"Stefan would be proud" Damon smirked and withdrew his gaze from the fire to his still full glass of bourbon.

"Will you keep training me?" Jeremy couldn't stop himself from asking. Part from Mr. Bell's vampire journal this was the one question he cared to ask the most.

"We had a deal, didn't we?" said Damon simply, leaning back into the couch.

"But…I can't run…" Jeremy pointed out the obvious, starting to feel a little worried about Damon forcing him to run with a dislocated ankle, in order to get him to quit faster.

"We'll figure it out" said Damon vaguely, "relax, I won't make you run" he added whilst rolling his eyes at the boy's terrified expression.

Jeremy heaved a deep sigh and jerked his head upward to stare at the ceiling. They both remained quiet for a few minutes until Jeremy took the big decision to tell Damon everything. Everything that he knew about Mr. Bell, the things he saw that night in the woods and the copies of Mr. Bell's journal he had hidden in his room. This whole story started to get a hell lot more serious than he ever imagined, by keeping this kind of secrets he could as easily be putting in danger the lives of everybody he loved and cared about. This was his last chance to come clean and he was willing to grab it.

"I need to tell you something about me and Kylie…" he began in a small voice.

For some reason, Damon immediately straightened up, set down his glass and rolled up his sleeves in a business-like way.

"I knew this was coming" said Damon, standing up to sit instead on the coffee table, facing the boy. "I guess I just hoped you were past that…stage"

"No, I really have to tell you something _very important_" Jeremy said eagerly but Damon hushed him.

"Don't interrupt me" said Damon, "I know it is normal"

Jeremy kept staring at Damon, having no clue on what was he talking about.

"Look Jer, you are growing" Damon was saying, "Your body is changing"

And then, all of the sudden it hit him; Damon was actually trying to have _the talk_ with him. The same awkward and humiliating talk millions and millions of teenagers all around the world were dreading. Jeremy's eyes widened with realization as he jumped up to his feet so fast his head started to spin "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Jer…"

Jeremy pressed his hands against his ears and kept yelling, "I can't hear you! Stop talking! I can't hear you! Stop talking!"

Damon rolled his eyes and waited patiently for Jeremy to stop yelling.

Ignoring the pain on his right ankle as the effects of the painkillers started to fade away, Jeremy kept pacing around the living room, his fingers tightly pressed inside his ears and yelling words and phrases that after some point stopped to make sense, for at least the next ten minutes and it would probably go on longer if Damon didn't grab him by the shoulders and forced him back into the couch.

"Are you done acting like a five year old?" Damon asked, watching Jeremy pull his hands away from his face.

"Kylie is _not_ my girlfriend" said Jeremy rather aggressively, as if even the idea offended him and his morality, "she is my friend! Just a friend! Nothing more!" _part from my partner in crime, _he thought to say but at that point he was not feeling in the right mood to bring the journal and Mr. Bell into the conversation.

Damon looked at Jeremy and his passionate struggle to prove that the girl was only in fact his friend and couldn't help but smile. "Still in love with the witch, huh?" he guessed the truth.

Jeremy blushed harder than ever before, still trying to understand how they got into this rather uncomfortable topic in the first place. "I will love her forever" he said in one breath.

Damon let out a small but bitter laugh. "_Forever_ is a very small amount of time when you are that young, Jer. You'll forget and move on sooner than you might think"

"Oh yeah? Is that what you did with Katherine?" Jeremy asked, seemingly unable to restrain himself.

Damon looked at him for a few second that to Jeremy felt as hours. He never expected Damon to answer his question; in fact he was surprised Damon didn't put his immortality ring in use already.

"No, I didn't" he said throwing himself back into the couch next to Jeremy, "but then again, I was stupid…although, even I let go eventually" Damon took a sip of bourbon from his glass before setting it back down.

"Only to fall in love with my sister soon after, whom also happens to be Katherine's doppelganger. Congratulations, that much for letting go" said Jeremy mockingly.

Damon's face flinched at the boy's comment, "Elena is not Katherine" he said, lightly smacking Jeremy at the back of the head.

"Tell me about it. Having Katherine for a sister…" said Jeremy with a shudder, looking thoughtfully over at Damon's bourbon stash. "Can I have some of that?"

"That depends. Do you have an ID that says you are twenty-one?

"Is that a trick question?" asked Jeremy with a half smirk.

Damon smiled despite himself and lowered his half-empty glass "Go to bed Jer, its late"

Jeremy stood up feeling slightly uneasy. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked, sizing Damon warily.

"I'm a vampire Jeremy" said Damon heavily, "I'll be fine" he added quickly, seeing Jeremy look even more concerned after that statement.

"Okay…" said Jeremy, though he didn't sound completely convinced. He limped back to the threshold and was about to leave the room, when a strange thought occurred to him. He leaned against the wall and looked back at Damon.

"Do you remember when I had that party a few weeks ago?"

Damon shot him a puzzled look out of the corner of his eye.

"Vividly"

"You didn't get mad" said Jeremy in a measured voice. "Why?"

"It was the first normal thing you've done since I met you" said Damon wearily, throwing his head back.

Jeremy frowned in effort to put two and two together. "Yeah, that…_or_, you thought I did something else, _something_ a lot worse than a lame party" he said thoughtfully.

Damon remained silent for a few seconds with his eyes turned on the boy. He looked almost impressed.

"Go to bed, Sherlock" he said after a while.

"I'm right!" Jeremy jumped up excitedly, "what was it?"

"Go to bed, Jer" Damon repeated steadily.

"You got to tell me!" said Jeremy tensely, looking instinctively around the living room, even though he knew they were alone; Stefan was sleeping over at the Gilbert house.

"Goodnight, Jeremy"

"Okay, fine…goodnight, I hope you enjoy drinking down your sorrows" he smiled at him sarcastically and departed.

* * *

Jeremy woke up early the next morning. He felt tired but didn't have time to spare on useless activities such as sleeping. He dressed at top speed and limped down to the kitchen. Stefan was already there, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Careful Stefan, coffee will stunt your growth" he said with an evil grin coming over his face.

"Somebody woke up in a good mood, still enjoying those painkillers?" said Stefan distractedly, looking at a bunch of papers spread all over the kitchen counter.

"No, I'm just happy to see you" Jeremy continued in the same mocking tone.

"They called from school today" Stefan announced heavily, looking up from the counter.

"Oh yeah? Did they finally realize you are hundred and seventy years old and having you date their students is slightly creepy?" guessed Jeremy with a small laugh.

"No" said Stefan, ignoring Jeremy's tone, "apparently you've been in detention every single day for the last one month, which is more than any other student in the school"

"Okay" Jeremy shrugged, "I know this might look bad, but I choose to take this incident as a learning experience"

Stefan rolled his eyes, "and what did you learn?"

"To avoid you in the mornings from now on" said Jeremy simply, juggling a couple apples from the top of the basket.

Stefan was about to say something, when Damon walked inside the kitchen.

"Why are you two always fighting?" he asked, smacking Jeremy on the head with his newspaper.

"We are not fighting" said Jeremy and Stefan in one voice while glaring at each other with mutual dislike.

"Did you give him the program?" Damon asked Stefan absentmindedly, pulling his mobile out of the back pocket of his jeans to check on his texts.

"No…" said Stefan who had obviously forgotten.

"What program?" asked Jeremy, feeling slightly uneasy in the sound of that word.

"That's for you" Stefan picked up a piece of paper out of the pile in front of him and pushed it toward Jeremy.

"What the hell is that?" said Jeremy, looking miserably at his new studying and activities program.

"What does it look like?" Stefan barked at him.

"Excuse me, but what exactly gives you the impression you have the right to _organize_ my life?" asked Jeremy in an overly polite tone, his eyes scanning the paper.

"The fact that we care about your well-being" said Stefan in the same courteous tone.

"And the fact that we can both kick your ass at any time given" Damon added, still texting.

"Mostly that" Stefan agreed with a shrug. "And as you can see, its Elena approved"

Jeremy's eyes travelled to the end of the paper and rested at a pink, drawn out heart. "Is that what you do when you are alone with my sister? Write down my studying programs?" he asked, looking at Stefan and without waiting for an answer he added "I don't know if I should be relieved or really worried"

"Worried" Damon raised his hand as if he was voting.

Stefan didn't bother answering to any of them, he simply gathered all his papers, picked up his cup of coffee and left the kitchen with dignity.


	20. Ancient Greek

In the evening and after Jeremy had spent the whole day locked up in his bedroom, trying to translate parts of Mr. Bell's journal, he finally decided to give up. It was then when Kylie texted, asking him to come over to her house to work on it together. Jeremy hesitated before giving her an actual answer. He was worried about finding out something important in front of Kylie. This journal was a map leading straight inside the world of the supernatural, a mad world that Kylie wasn't a part of, a world that could hurt her. He couldn't let her discover the secrets hidden inside that journal; he didn't have the right to put her life in danger. But then again, Kylie was his friend, his only friend and this was a decision he could never take for her… Plus for all he knew Mr. Bell could have written in Ancient Greek his grandmother's cookie recipe and not a deadly vampire secret that could blow up the whole entire world.

"Cookies it is" Jeremy muttered to himself while texting Kylie back with a simple, 'see you in an hour'.

He stuffed all the copies of the journal and the notes he kept with the progress he made, into his schoolbag and slowly headed downstairs. He was too lazy and his leg was in too much pain to wander around the house with the hope to find one of the Salvatore brothers, so instead, he walked to the middle of the entrance hall, cleared his throat and yelled at the top of his voice, "HELP! SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

All the way from upstairs, he heard Stefan's bedroom door swung open and soon after he saw Stefan in the flesh appear in front of him out of thin air.

"What happened? Is it a vampire?" Stefan whispered to him, staring wildly around, his ears waiting tensely for the smallest sound.

"I was joking" Jeremy whispered back, imitating Stefan's agitated voice.

Stefan straightened up immediately, looking affronted. "What is wrong with you?" he grabbed Jeremy by the shoulders and shook him hard.

"Have you seen Damon?" asked Jeremy, pulling away from Stefan.

"He just left" said Stefan grumpily.

"Great…" Jeremy muttered disappointedly.

"Is there something you need? Can I help you?" Stefan's annoyance vanished off his face within seconds and he looked genuinely willing to assist Jeremy in whatever he needed.

"Umm, yeah, actually. Can you drive me over to Kylie's house? I'd walk but you know…" he looked pointedly at his crutches.

"Sure" Stefan walked over to the little hook by the door, where he and Damon used to keep their car keys. (Jeremy's were locked in Stefan's room).

Jeremy followed Stefan to his car and sat up front, his eyes staring outside the window in an attempt to show Stefan he was not eager to start a conversation.

"What do you think about the new schedule?" Stefan asked soon after, looking expectantly at Jeremy's blank expression.

"Love it" said Jeremy, sarcasm dripping off his voice. "You should really get a hobby. Klaus is painting, so did Hitler…maybe you should give it a try"

"Do you have any questions?" Stefan asked dismissively, ignoring Jeremy's last comment.

"About Hitler?"

"The schedule!" he barked at him.

"Not really…" said Jeremy with a look as though he was seriously considering the question.

"Would you like to discuss the details?"

"Not really…"

"Did you even read it?" said Stefan in a voice of determined calmness.

"Not really…" said Jeremy, as he gazed sleepily into space.

"I signed you up for ballet lessons" Stefan announced at once, his hands clenching the wheel a little tighter than needed, giving out the impression he was trying to strangle it.

"What?" Jeremy jumped onto his seat, looking positively alarmed.

"Yeah, Elena agreed. You'll look good in pink" Stefan continued pleasantly.

"You're joking" said Jeremy, though he didn't sound completely convinced. He knew that he could expect pretty much everything from Stefan and his sister.

"Yes, unfortunately I'm joking. But it's good to have your attention back" said Stefan thoroughly annoyed, watching Jeremy sink back into his seat, looking relieved. "Though I did sign you up for some extra art classes"

Jeremy looked at Stefan for a few seconds, having nothing to say. He was afraid to admit even to himself how much he actually liked that idea. For a long time now he was considering to get a professional art class, but every time he tried to be a little closer to normal, something catastrophic would happen. First there was the whole moonstone search, then Jenna died, then he chopped somebody's head off on the front porch of his house and got sent to Denver and then his sister became a vampire, leaving him no time to worry about extracurricular activities.

"Is that the house?" Stefan stopped his car at the side of the road and slid down his window to stare at a two-storey, white house.

"Yeah" said Jeremy hurrying to open the door, when Stefan grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

"Not so fast" he said, eyeing Jeremy from the top of his spiky hair to his dislocated leg. "Where is your ring?"

"Are you serious?" Jeremy laughed and went for the door, only to realize that Stefan had locked the whole car. "What the hell?!"

"Trust me Jeremy; I don't like this any more than you do, so let's just get it over with" said Stefan wearily, rubbing his eyes, "Where is your ring?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, but raised his hand in midair showing off the immortality ring on his finger.

"Painkillers" said Stefan commandingly.

Jeremy put his hand inside the pocked of his hoodie and took out the little pill container, making sure Stefan could see it before he threw it back inside.

"Cellphone"

"In my bag, can I go now?" said Jeremy in a bored voice.

"Good" Stefan nodded, "Take care, be careful, don't dislocate your other leg and I'll be here at ten"

"Can't wait" said Jeremy sarcastically and pulled the door open.

Relieved to finally get out of that car and away from Stefan's unpleasant company, Jeremy used his crutches to climb the small steps up the porch and knocked on Kylie's front door. The door opened with a small creak, revealing Kylie in her power ranger pajamas and an enormous grin upon her face,

"Hey common in" Kylie moved aside, kissing Jeremy softly on the cheek, "how is your leg?"

"Its fine" Jeremy replied, slightly blushing from the unexpected kiss, "how are you?"

"Good. My parents are out. So, did you find anything?" asked Kylie as she led the way to her bedroom.

"Well, it's hard to say, the whole thing is in Ancient Greek. Spend the whole night trying to translate parts of it" Jeremy got inside Kylie's room and carefully sat on the edge of her bed. He was relieved to see that the girl's room was almost as messy as his own, with clothes, comic books and action figures all over the floor. Her walls were filled with superhero and Ryan Gosling posters while, a huge collection of stuffed animals were looking dangerously at him from the top of her desk.

"Ancient Greek? Does he speak Ancient Greek?" asked Kylie skeptically.

"Seems like it" Jeremy shrugged and bent down to unzip his schoolbag. "See for yourself" he pulled out the copies of Mr. Bell's journal and handed them over to the girl.

"Nice sketches" Kylie commented, looking inexpressibly at an anatomical sketch of a vampire, "he is a proper weirdo"

"That he is" Jeremy shook his head, very relieved that Kylie took this view.

"Okay, yeah, that is definitely Ancient Greek…" said Kylie thoughtfully, her eyes moving fast from side to side.

"What? Do you speak Ancient Greek too or something?" asked Jeremy mockingly, playing with one of Kylie's Barbie dolls.

"No, but I know somebody who does"

Jeremy jumped up to his feet, looking alarmed. That journal was supposed to be a secret; he couldn't allow to a whole bunch of strangers brainstorming over it.

"Relax, it's my dad" said Kylie hastily, "he is an archeologist"

"And how exactly are we going to explain to your dad getting possession of that journal" said Jeremy rather accusingly, "best case scenario he is confiscating the journal, worst case…" Jeremy's voice died in his throat, he didn't even want to think of the worst.

"Okay, then plan B" said Kylie, frowning in effort to remember, "I think my dad has some of his books in the office, we could use them to translate the journal by ourselves"

"Sounds good, let's go" said Jeremy throwing Kylie's Barbie doll on top of her bed and followed the girl outside the room.

He limped down the stairs to the open living room and went through the first door. Jeremy entered the office cautiously after Kylie, taking a second to look around the dark, green walls surrounding him. "When are your parents coming home?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"In a couple hours" said Kylie uncertainly, walking to the desk and a few laid down boxes. "We haven't cleared up all the boxes from the move yet" she said getting a few dusty and heavy looking tomes out of the first box.

Jeremy sat down on the floor and placed the copies and the notes in the same order they were inside Mr. Bell's journal.

"Where do we start?" Kylie crouched down beside Jeremy, setting down two of the tomes.

"I say we start from here" Jeremy placed his finger on the phrase under the sketch of the tree and the names of the Original family.

"Mikaelson" Kylie read out loud, "what does that mean?"

"I don't know" said Jeremy at once, "probably a name. Let's focus on the phrase" he pointed at the phrase one more time.

"Son of Mikael" Kylie muttered quietly, before opening the first of her dad's books. Jeremy got the second book and like Kylie, he buried his face inside it.

The first five hundred pages on each tome were about grammar, turning this seemingly exciting research to a real bore. "There must be an easier way to do this. Can't we just post the pictures on the internet and wait for somebody to tell us what it means?" Kylie whined, pinching herself to keep awake.

"Huh?" Jeremy looked up at her, after spending the last ten minutes reading the exact same phrase without realizing it. "No" he said dismissively and glared back at the phrase. That same, lazy idea occurred to him too last night, but after all, having top vampire secrets in open view all over the internet couldn't be such a wise thing to do. They had to find the answers by themselves.

Finally, after going through five abnormally big tomes, things started to look up.

"Oh my god!" Kylie shrieked excitedly, almost causing Jeremy a heart attack. "Look at this" she pointed somewhere in the middle of page three hundred and eighty-two. "It's the first and the last words of the phrase"

Jeremy took the book off her hands and looked at the words the girl was indicating.

"Θάνατος" Jeremy read.

"It means death" said Kylie knowledgably, clearly very proud of her discovery, "It's the first word, and here is the last one, "ζῆν"

"Life…" Jeremy read quietly, looking from the phrase to the book, to make sure those were the right words.

"Only two hours later and we have 'Death' and 'Life', what a productive way to spend Saturday night" said Kylie mockingly, but Jeremy wasn't listening.

"Jeremy…" Kylie waved her hands in front of his face, trying to get Jeremy's attention, "did you think of something?"

"Where is your history book?" Jeremy snapped all of the sudden.

"Umm…upstairs, why?"

"Bring it here" said Jeremy hotly, looking back at the two words.

Kylie knew him all too well to understand she was never going to get a proper answer out of him before she brought him that book, so she ran back to her room at top speed and returned to the office only seconds later. "Here" she threw the book at Jeremy.

Jeremy didn't open it though; he only looked at the cover. His heart sank.

"Θάνατος οὐδὲν διαφέρει τοῦ ζῆν" he read from the side of the cover, "Life is no different than death" he couldn't help but feel like a complete idiot, this whole time the answer he was looking was right in front of his face and he simply ignored it, because he didn't like history but mostly Mr. Bell.

Kylie remained silent, her mouth slightly open.

"What do you think it means?" she asked at last. "Is it another code for something?"

"I think it means exactly what it says" said Jeremy dropping his voice. If according to this saying, life and death meant the exact same thing then maybe, death wasn't that far from where they all stood.

"I think he is a psycho" said Kylie, as Jeremy stared at the ceiling waiting for inspiration to come.

"Who is a psycho?" the door of the office suddenly opened and a man around his early forties appeared on the threshold, his gaze lingered upon Jeremy who gulped and sat up a little straighter, alarmed looking.

"Just some teacher, he gave us extra work for the weekend" said Kylie with a small smile, "this is my friend, Jeremy" she indicated Jeremy, "Jeremy, this is my dad"

The boy pulled himself up using his crutches and shook Mr. Atkins's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sir" said Jeremy, while Kylie got to her knees and hastily gathered all the books and papers, before her dad could have the chance to take a glimpse of what they were truly working on.

"I own a shotgun" said Mr. Atkins savagely, his yellowish eyes deeply staring into Jeremy's.

Jeremy looked around at Kylie and then back at Mr. Atkins, who was still holding his hand rather aggressively.

"Okay…" he said not knowing whether how to react to this statement.

"That's something for you to keep in mind, for as long as you are hanging around my daughter" Mr. Atkins explained and with one last glare, he left Jeremy's hand.

Kylie had just finished with the books and zipped back Jeremy's schoolbag, before handing it over to him.

Together, the three of them walked to the living room, where another man was standing, looking at the TV. Jeremy didn't need to be told to know this was Kylie's other dad and even though he knew perfectly well that Kylie wasn't biologically related to neither of them, he couldn't not notice that Mr. Atkins looked very much like Kylie. He was a normal size, kind looking man with dark blond hair, brown eyes and a face full of tiny freckles.

He smiled broadly at Jeremy and shook his hand, under the threatening look of Kylie's other dad.

"You must be Jeremy, I heard a lot about you" he said friendly. "You should stay for some late dinner"

"No!" said Kylie and Jeremy together, very loudly.

"Then it's settled" Mr. Atkins clapped his hands, "we can't wait to learn everything about you Jeremy"

* * *

Dinner in the company of Mr. and Mr. Atkins at Kylie's house was not a pleasant experience for neither of the kids. Kylie kept looking awkwardly at her plate, mouthing apologies to Jeremy every five minutes, while Jeremy himself was trying to answer to all of the personal questions Mr. and Mr. Atkins seemed so fervent to ask.

"How long have you been living in Mystic Falls, Jeremy" asked Mr. Atkins with an indulgent smile.

"My whole life, Sir" said Jeremy, looking at his watch every two seconds, trying to make time go faster, but somehow managing to accomplish the exact opposite.

"You should call me George, I'm not that old" said George, looking pointedly at Mr. Atkins, whose eyes were scrutinizing Jeremy's every move.

"Where do you live?" asked Mr. Atkins threateningly.

"Umm…the Salvatore boarding house" said Jeremy in a deeply resentful voice.

"Salvatore? I used to know a Salvatore, Zach" said Mr. Atkins with a frown, "real jerk he was" he added, looking severely over at Jeremy as though it was his fault Zach Salvatore was a jerk. "So, please tell me young Jeremy, what is a Salvatore doing in my house?"

"Uh…" Jeremy murmured, looking across the table at Kylie, who was sitting with her hands covering her face, pretending to be invisible. "Actually, I'm a Gilbert if that's any consolation"

"Very well, dear. How do you like school?" said George, trying desperately to bring back the friendly atmosphere.

"What is your relation to the Salvatores?" Mr. Atkins spoke over him, his eyes darted on Jeremy.

"Damon Salvatore is his dad" said Kylie hurriedly, deciding it was about time to be a part of this conversation.

"Guardian, actually" Jeremy corrected her, putting down his fork.

"Not a big difference" said George soothingly.

"I've heard of your father around town. He is a close friend with the sheriff and the major" said Mr. Atkins with the air of a person that is trying to remember something highly unpleasant. "He sure is a real Salvatore"

"Not all Salvatores are bad" said Jeremy louder than he had intended. His face felt hot, though he had no idea why that comment about Damon made him so angry. It's not that Damon wasn't a dick like Zach, but having to hear Mr. Atkins say that, made something in his stomach twist. That man didn't know Damon; he didn't have the right to say anything bad about him just yet.

"Peter is going to be working with the Major in the town hall starting on Monday" George informed Jeremy, smiling proudly at his husband. "So, I guess he and your father will be seeing a lot of each other"

Jeremy almost chocked on his juice. "Great…" he forced himself to say, making a mental note to later beg Damon not to kill Kylie's dad.

"We should go" said Kylie, before her dads had the chance to bring up another uncomfortable topic.

"Yeah" Jeremy jumped up, feeling internally grateful to Kylie for saying these words.

"What happened to your leg?" asked George, watching Jeremy grab his crutches from the side of the table.

"I tripped" said Jeremy mechanically; he and Kylie carefully avoiding to look at each other.

"You should be more careful" said Mr. Atkins venomously, with a last threatening look.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, I can't begin to describe how sorry I'm" started Kylie, once they were out of the house, standing on the front porch.

"You should really stop apologizing about family. Especially after you met the people I live with" said Jeremy; keeping his eyes open for Stefan's car, having no doubt that Stefan would be there right on time.

"Still, I'm so sorry. They are not usually like that. It's just you are a boy and they worry"

Jeremy looked at his watch, it was ten o'clock exactly and as expected he saw Stefan's car lights from afar, illuminating the dark road.

* * *

**P.S. Hey there guys. I'm here to inform you that due to family vacations, I won't have internet and unfortunately won't be able to upload a new chapter for at least the next 12 days. Thank you all so very much for taking time off your life to read this story, like it and review, it really means a lot. Hope you all have an amazing couple of weeks. Take care and see you very soon with a new chapter that's called "Parent-Teacher conference" :D :D :D**


	21. Parent-Teacher Conference

Mr. Bell's history lesson was particularly unpleasant that day. He kept coming on to Jeremy with questions and offensive comments at every chance given, enjoying maliciously making the boy uncomfortable. Once the class got to an end and Jeremy thought that his torture was finally over, Mr. Bell stood in front of his desk, looking at his students' empting the classroom eagerly and said: "Mr. Gilbert, can I have a word with you?"

"Sure…" Jeremy muttered, thinking that he would much rather prefer to be ripped apart by a pack of werewolves than spend five extra minutes in Mr. Bell's company.

"Alone" Mr. Bell said, glaring over at Kylie who waited for Jeremy by the door.

The two kids exchanged a look of mutual understanding, before Kylie depart with the rest of the class, leaving the door slightly open.

Mr. Bell indicated for the boy to come closer and paced thoughtfully around his desk, his face red from concentration. He looked battled as though was trying to take a life changing decision.

"What happened to your leg?" he suddenly looked up, a deranged expression upon his face.

"I tripped" said Jeremy mechanically; giving the same answer he'd been giving to everybody who asked.

"Is that so?" said the man rounding Jeremy creepily.

"Yes" said Jeremy boringly.

Mr. Bell jumped forward, grabbed Jeremy from the top of his shirt and pinned him against the blackboard. "What were you doing at my house, Gilbert?" he pressed his nails deep inside the boy's throat, his hands trembling with fury.

Jeremy's heart sank. He tried hard to push the man away from him, but the teacher's saggy, old body was a lot stronger than he expected.

"I was never at your house" said Jeremy, still struggling.

"LIES!" Mr. Bell roared, grabbing a fistful of Jeremy's hair and banged his head twice against the blackboard. "_What were you doing at my house, Gilbert?_" he pressed his forehead on Jeremy's and whispered inside his ear, "_I'm going to kill you_".

Jeremy gulped but did not let his fear show. "I was never at your house!" he yelled and with his last remaining strength he pushed the man off of him. He didn't know how or why; maybe it was his will to save his life or maybe Kylie screaming on top of her voice, "Yes, Sir, Mr. Bell is still inside" but the history teacher freed the boy and stepped backwards, away from Jeremy.

The door swung open and Bonnie's dad, Principal Hopkins stepped inside the classroom, looking at Mr. Bell who was standing at the other end of the room, straightening up. Jeremy quickly made his way out in the hallway, leaving Mr. Bell alone with Principal Hopkins who clearly noticed nothing of his employee trying to strangle his daughter's ex-boyfriend.

"How could he know it was you?" Kylie was yapping in his ear after he told her everything that happened, "did you tell him?"

"No I didn't tell him, I'm not that stupid" Jeremy was rubbing his throat that was still in pain. "Plus I don't think he knew it was me, not for sure at least" he said trying to convince himself as much as Kylie.

"He sounded pretty sure to m—"

"I'm going to skip the rest of the classes" Jeremy interrupted her, before she had time to finish her thought.

"No you're not" said Kylie flatly, "your dad will get mad again, you'll be grounded and I won't be able to see you no more"

"He is not my dad, plus he is outside so he won't find out…"

Kylie threw him a disdainful look.  
"Okay fine, I'll stay" he raised his hands in defeat, seeing Kylie regain her smile.

* * *

Coming home from school that day, Jeremy found an unexpected surprise waiting for him in the mailbox. He held the letter from his school, looking around the Salvatore property for a sign of Damon or Stefan before his eyes turn back on the file, addressed to _Damon Salvatore. _With shaken hands he ripped the file apart, took out the main letter and his eyes slid down the paper widening more and more at every word until they felt ready to pop.

"Dick" he spoke to the paper, breaking it in his fist and walking toward the entrance of the house.

After absentmindedly disposing the letter in the kitchen trashcan, Jeremy mounted the stairs up to his room. On top of his bed was placed a '_Jeremy do your homework_' clip note, written with Stefan's cursive handwriting. Jeremy ignored the note, throwing his coat over it and went to the desk to open his computer, only to realize that Stefan took away his charger, leaving him instead another clip note '_I said do your homework!_'

Starting to feel his temper rise, Jeremy looked inside the closet, dived under the bed and rummaged through the drawers, checking for more missing things. He had to admit that Stefan did a pretty good job clearing up his room from all kinds of electronical temptation. Now his PS3, his x-box, his mp3, his iPod and all his games were replaced with more of Stefan's notes, that after some point Jeremy stopped reading.

He lay down on the bed and opened his biology book, thinking of ways to vervain Stefan. He flickered through the first few pages without really looking at the content, before snapping it shut with a little thud. He glanced around his bedroom searching of ways to keep himself entertained, when all of the sudden he remembered. Jumping up to his feet, he limped to the sock drawer and with great relief realized that it survived Stefan's witch hunt and under his layer of socks and porn magazines was still innocently laying a forgotten and abandoned Game Boy Color.

He didn't really want to play with it, in all fairness he would much rather prefer going over to Kylie's house and work on the Mr. Bell case, but the teenage-rebellious part of him wanted to go against Stefan's unreasonable and suffocating rules and playing with the only survived videogame was a way to do it.

It was less than an hour later when Jeremy heard footsteps coming from the side of the corridor. He quickly threw his Game Boy under the bed, grabbed the nearest book from his nightstand and hid his face behind it. Damon pulled the door open without knocking and leaned on the side of the wall, there was a piece of paper trapped inside his fist.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked without as much as a hello and straightened the very familiar school letter that Jeremy disposed over an hour ago.

"No" Jeremy shrugged, his head still facing the book even though his eyes remained very still.

"It's a school letter" Damon informed him in an amused tone.

"Really?" said Jeremy, adding a slight note of innocent curiosity in his voice.

"I found it in the trash" said Damon casually as though the trash was a perfectly normal place to keep a school letter, "you wouldn't happen to know anything about it, _would you?_"

"No…" said Jeremy attempting an ingratiating smile.

"You wouldn't also happen to know whose is it, _right?_" Damon seemed to be rather enjoying himself.

Jeremy looked miserably around the room, as though expecting for salvation to come from somewhere. "No" he breathed finally.

Damon nodded in a falsely understanding way, "have a guess"

"Stefan…?" he gulped.

Damon's grin widened, "guess again"

There was a small pause in which Jeremy almost begged his Game Boy to stop playing the annoying Pokémon theme tune from under his bed.

"Me" he said in a voice so small that if Damon wasn't a vampire he probably wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Excuse me?" Damon brought his hand to his ear, "what did you say?"

"Okay fine" Jeremy rolled his eyes, "It's mine, I'm failing history. There I said it! Are you happy now?" said the boy, dropping all pretense.

"Happy? You are failing history, why would I be happy you idiot?" Damon barked at him, looking over at Stefan's pile of clip notes.

"Yeah, that's not good" Jeremy shook his head in fake remorse.

"No it's not" Damon agreed, pacing around the room for a few quiet seconds before sitting on the edge of Jeremy's bed.

"Well, it's useful then that I'm studying" said Jeremy looking pointedly at the book in his hands.

Damon glanced sideways at the boy, "really? How is that working for you?" he asked folding his arms.

"Great!" Jeremy lied at once, "It's a little complicated, but I can manage"

"Complicated?" Damon repeated with a little grin, "then maybe you should try turning it the other side"

Eyes filled with pure horror, Jeremy looked down at the book, that wasn't even history and was also apparently holding it backwards this whole time.

"Shit…" he muttered.

"Get it together, Jer" Damon stood up and with that he brought this depressing discussion to an end.

For the rest of the day Jeremy remained grudgingly inside his room and even when Stefan stopped by to check on the effects of his clip notes, he made sure to let Stefan know of everything he thought about him, his program and his clip notes. He didn't know why he felt so angry. Of course deep inside he did expect to fail history all along, but having Damon over at his school for a chat with Mr. Bell about his grades, was something he couldn't comprehend no matter how hard he tried, especially after Mr. Bell's attempt to strangle him that very same morning.

* * *

"So, are you really coming to my school today?" asked Jeremy miserably on Wednesday morning, staring blankly at his cereal as though facing his last meal.

"You are going to his school?" Stefan emerged from the hallway, alarmed looking. "What for?"

"Some parent-teacher meeting" said Damon with a shrug, his tone quite indifferent.

"Parent-teacher meeting" Stefan repeated thoughtfully, "what did you do?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Jeremy.

"Nothing!" said Jeremy in a dignified voice, deeply offended by the false accusation, "why are you always so easy to assume I did something?!"

"Oh please" Stefan sneered, "You're always up to no good"

"It's about his grades" Damon interrupted the what had to be a beginning of a two hour long argument.

"Grades?" Stefan repeated again interestedly and as though to complete the disaster he added, "Don't you think it would be more appropriate if I attended the meeting?"

Jeremy dropped his spoon inside his bowl and milk splashed all over his shirt but he didn't seem to care and only stared at Stefan in a state of shock. Damon on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes and in a tone of genuine interest he asked his brother, "and what exactly makes you more appropriate, brother?"

"That I actually care about his education" said Stefan as though his reasons were obvious.

An irritated smirk came across Damon's face. "While I don't?"

"You don't act like you do" said Stefan casually, but his attitude was set for a fight.

That was what Jeremy noticed and pushed his chair away from the counter and quietly got up to his feet with this place being the last he wanted to be at that moment.

"What you're trying to do is suck up to Elena, _brother_" said Damon hurtfully, taking a threatening step closer to Stefan.

"Now why would I do that? I _have_ Elena, _brother_" said Stefan, him too stepping forward so that his face was an inch away from Damon's.

The two Salvatore brothers glared at each other as though wishing to the other nothing less but to drop dead. "SIT DOWN" they yelled in one voice, without looking away from each other but both pointing at Jeremy.

The boy who was only seconds away from leaving the kitchen and could almost smell the sweet air of freedom, cursed from under his breath and retreated to his chair. He placed his head in between his hands and watched the rest of the fight with an expression of utmost boredom, as Damon and Stefan had the same typical fight every other morning. He was very much aware that while this argument was seemingly about his education, in reality it had nothing to do with him at all, it was all about Elena and who was the man of the house.

"You" Stefan turned raptly around at Jeremy, "which one of us do you prefer to come at the meeting today?"

Jeremy could hardly imagine which one them was more appropriate for a parent-teacher conference with Mr. Bell, in fact he felt a burning desire to express his need to stake them both in their sleep, but since one day in the very distant future he was still hoping to drive his car, he kept that thought to himself.

"So?" Damon prompted him.

"Elena could come" said Jeremy with a shrug.

"Elena is busy" said Stefan dismissively.

"Then I really don't care" said Jeremy with a yawn, while stirring his saggy cereal in a disgusting looking mush.

* * *

It was around six o'clock in the evening and the sun was already coming down as though him too not willing to witness the rest of that day's going. Jeremy could agree completely since he too wanted to disappear from the world's sight, as he was sitting next to Kylie in the cafeteria waiting. Damon and Stefan were both already at the school having split the classes, while Kylie was still waiting impatiently for one of her dads to show.

"Dad!" she shrieked cheerfully, running up to door and hug Mr. Atkins, who shot Jeremy an unpleasant glare behind his daughter's back.

"Mr. Atkins" said Jeremy moodily, returning the glare.

"Young Salvatore" Mr. Atkins nodded.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and muttered something that wasn't very clear but sounded a lot like "Gilbert" and one very bad word.

Kylie pointed at the classes her dad had to visit and once he left, she sat back down next to Jeremy.

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay" Kylie smiled encouragingly, squeezing his shoulder.

"I'm not worried, I'm angry" said Jeremy sternly and watched as Damon and Stefan walked inside the cafeteria at almost the exact same moment, both coming from different sides.

"So?" Jeremy stared nervously at them, biting his down lip.

"Easy going, smart, attentive and responsible" Stefan quoted some of Jeremy's teachers, looking willing to kiss the boy, "Elena will be so proud"

Jeremy turned around to make sure Stefan was actually speaking to him, "does that mean I can drive my car?" he decided to seize the moment.

"Keep it up like that and I'll be more than happy to let you drive an airplane" said Stefan with a proud smile. "What did your half say?" he rounded on Damon.

"Well" Damon smirked at Jeremy, "part from the biology teacher that was frankly surprised when I informed her of your existence and the P.E coach who thought you were the exchange student, you did quite alright"

Jeremy nodded, that description sounded a lot more like him.

"Okay" Stefan clapped his hands, looking pleased "let's go home"

"Actually there is yet one class left" Damon smirked in Jeremy's direction.

"Oh, okay" said Jeremy looking faintly unsettled, "I'll wait for you at home" he said and made an attempt to follow Stefan to the exit when Damon caught him around the waist and drew him back.

"You're coming with me" he said with an unmerciful smile.

Casting the exit door a miserable look of longing, Jeremy said goodbye to Kylie and Stefan and paced toward the history class of Mr. Bell. He was walking before Damon who kept prodding him in the back for no good reason.

"I don't want to go in there" said Jeremy biting down his pride and allowing a small trace of panic in his voice, once they got in front of Mr. Bell's classroom.

"Too bad, now move it" Damon pushed him a little ahead of him.

"No I _really_ don't want to go in there" he said in a voice a little above whisper.

"And I _really_ don't care" Damon gave him another shove in the back and opened the door of the history class, pushing Jeremy inside first.

Mr. Bell was seated behind his desk; his head leaned over a big pile of files. Once he noticed Damon and Jeremy, he launched himself off his chair and moved toward them with an expression of great distaste on his face.

"Damon Salvatore" Damon introduced himself holding out a hand.

"Are you the father?" asked Mr. Bell shaking Damon's hand with a look of disgust.

"Close enough" Damon patted Jeremy's shoulder.

"You look young" Mr. Bell leered at him, scrutinizing disapprovingly Damon's appearance.

"You'd be surprised" " Damon's lips curled in what had to be a very ironic smile that was undoubtedly addressed to Jeremy.

Mr. Bell turned his back on them seemingly unable to have a glance to spare on Jeremy and sat back behind his desk. "Have a sit" he motioned Damon to the chair opposite him.

Damon pushed Jeremy forward and sat down, forcing the boy on the second chair next to him. There was a moment's silence in which the only sound was coming from the raffling of the papers as Mr. Bell was searching for Jeremy's file.

"So, tell me Mr. Bell" said Damon reading Mr. Bell's name from the name plate on top of the desk. "How is my sweet angel doing?"

Mr. Bell looked up and shot Jeremy a murderous glare, who stared back at him without flinching.

"Let me put it that way" said Mr. Bell finding Jeremy's file and putting it before him, "I like to keep records with all the progress my students make throughout the school-year, this is Mr. Gilberts so far" he handed over to Damon a piece of paper.

"This is empty" Damon noticed, examining the blank paper from both sides.

"Indeed" Mr. Bell smiled maliciously; showing all of his little, yellow teeth.

Damon glanced at Jeremy who shrugged in an answer.

"This is the worst student I've ever had. He is disrespectful" Mr. Bell started, looking slightly disappointed at Damon's calm reaction, he would love very much to see Jeremy get yelled at.

"Respect is earned" said Damon simply.

"He is moody" said Mr. Bell, giving no sign that he had heard him.

"He is a teenager, if he was a happy-happy butterfly then you should probably be worried" Damon interrupted him with a gleeful smile.

Mr. Bell looked as though he had been slapped across the face. "Now I can see where Mr. Gilbert gets his _special_ sense of humor" he said bitterly, and his face recovered to his normal sour expression.

Damon turned at Jeremy with a kind of furious pride.

"I'm sorry Gilbert, I was wrong to accuse you for your impropriate behavior" said Mr. Bell with a falsely sympathetic tone, his face turned on Jeremy. "Parents and irresponsible teachers are the ones to be accountable"

"Teachers?" Damon and Jeremy said in one voice, both rising slightly from their chairs.

"Yes, teachers" said Mr. Bell defiantly, opening Jeremy's file to take a look inside. "Alaric Saltzman in particular, as I understand was close to the family showing obvious favoritism with an A to a student that clearly does not deserve it"

"Say that again" said Damon threateningly and Jeremy could tell that he was restraining himself with extreme difficulty.

"Teachers like Mr. Saltzman are the reason students like Gilbert here exist. Teachers who are irresponsible, soft and –"

Jeremy felt a little breeze of air, as everything changed in the blink of an eye. One moment Mr. Bell was sitting opposite him and the next he was slammed against the wall, Damon's hand at his throat and his legs tangling in midair.

"Damon no…" said Jeremy taken aback, but without really trying to get the vampire off his history teacher, since Mr. Bell was too trying to strangle him a couple days ago, his sympathy was limited.

"What were you saying?" Damon ignored the boy and focused on his prey.

Mr. Bell didn't answer, looking confused and upset he only kept kicking his legs and jerking his head in an attempt to free himself, but Damon was about a hundred times stronger making it all seem pointless.

"Damon, don't kill him" said Jeremy, this time putting some effort to get in front of Damon.

"Why not?" said Damon shoving Jeremy out of the way.

"Because…" Jeremy started but he couldn't think of real answer. Mr. Bell was a jerk that did everything in his power to make him suffer, but death was not a right punishment for being a dick.

"Give me one good reason and I'll let him go" said Damon conversationally, without the slightest indication that he could feel Mr. Bell's brutal struggle to free himself.

"Okay" said Jeremy considering the matter as seeing Mr. Bell's face turning to a nice purple color. "He is a dick, he really is…but so are you, and Stefan and me and so was Alaric"

"You are not giving me reasons Jeremy" said Damon though his grip was getting slightly looser.

"My point is, he deserves to live as much as we do and plus he would be the third history teacher you kill…gets old" Jeremy added hurriedly.

Damon watched Jeremy for a few seconds before throwing Mr. Bell back to his feet. "You are one lucky old man" he said, still keeping Mr. Bell pinned on the wall.

Mr. Bell didn't speak, he looked horrorstruck and almost cried when Damon pulled up his chin and nailed his blue eyes inside the teacher's black.

"You'll remember nothing of what happened" said Damon in a stern voice, "the meeting went great, Jeremy Gilbert is your favorite student and that's why you'll reward him with an A"

"Jeremy Gilbert is my favorite student" Mr. Bell repeated blankly and Damon freed him from his grip.


	22. Girl Scouts

Saturday morning came around sooner than Jeremy was expecting it. With all the work on the Mr. Bell journal, still following Stefan's program and at the same time beg Damon all day to start the training sessions again, was taking all his time and energy in result for him to lose completely the track of time.

Coming out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and was about to go out, when suddenly he caught a glimpse of his reflection on the bathroom mirror. He leaned over the sink to look closer and examine his face more carefully. His heart swelled with happiness and joy as he brought his hand to his face and touched what definitely had to be the beginning of a beard.

Still wearing nothing but a towel, he ran back to his room and opened the last remaining box from the move to the Salvatore boarding house, where under a pile of Elena's old clothes (that for some reason she dumped on his stuff) was placed a simple, black razor. He picked it up and stared at it sadly for a few seconds. This was originally Alaric's razor; the boy took it from his stuff the day he died, hardly thinking his old Guardian would mind. Now the time had finally come when he could use it.

He limped back to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. His leg was almost healed and the pain was barely noticeable anymore, except maybe from the times when Tyler thought it would be funny to stump on it, putting everybody under the impression he still hasn't forgiven Jeremy for the outcome of the party.

There was no shaving foam or cream, or anything he could use to shave in his bathroom and the Salvatores were probably not even in the house. In fact he hasn't seen Stefan since Wednesday when he came to his parent-teacher conference and got all those suspiciously good remarks on his behavior and academics. Jeremy of course had already asked Damon plenty of times whether or not he compelled those teachers, but Damon's answer was always the same: "shut up".

Deciding to roll with the things he had, he took a handful of regular shampoo and was ready to apply it on his face when suddenly a voice came from the door. "You're doing it wrong"

Jeremy cussed as he dived down to retrieve his razor that fell off his hands on the floor.

"I'm doing it right" he said stubbornly, looking up at Damon who was now making his way inside the bathroom and stood next to the sink. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to shave"

"Especially when you have nothing to shave" said Damon winking.

Jeremy's face flinched, "yes I do" he intoned, feeling insulted.

Damon leaned forward, taking hold of his face and looked at it closely with narrowed eyes. "So now part from ghosts you can see invisible beards too?" he smirked, letting go of the boy and instead started to examine the razor lying on top of the wooden cabinet. "That's old. It's no good, you should throw it away"

Jeremy's face that was still red from the previous comment, suddenly hardened, "It was Alaric's" he said shorty and pretended to be looking at something very important on the floor.

"Okay" said Damon uneasily and without wanting to continue this conversation as much as Jeremy, he pushed the boy back on the edge of the tub and told him to wait there. He returned seconds later, holding what appeared to be a real shaving gel.

"This is like Stefan's first period all over again" said Damon sarcastically, applying the gel on Jeremy's cheeks and the whole lower half of his face, before he pick up again Alaric's razor and stand over the boy, rather threateningly.

Jeremy laughed despite himself and waited patiently until he felt the sharp end of the blade slide smoothly down his face.

"So, part from Mr. Bell, how many more of my teachers you compelled?" asked Jeremy matter-of-factly.

"What makes you believe that?" said Damon, hardly listening to what the boy was saying.

"_Responsible, attentive, easy going_" said Jeremy imitating Stefan's voice, "does that sound anything like me to you?"

"What can I say?" Damon shrugged, forcing Jeremy's face to the left and sliding the cold blade on his skin. "He got the good half"

"There is no good half" Jeremy hissed, careful in his movement so Damon won't cut him. "Admit it, you compelled them!"

"Firstly, wipe that smile off your face" Damon poked him in the chest, "and second…shut up"

"So you did compel them" Jeremy stated gleefully.

"Maybe you should go share your suspicions with Stefan. I'm sure he would be glad to hold an AK-47 over your little head until the day of your graduation, from Harvard" said Damon with a light of triumph in his eyes, clapping the boy on the shoulder before making his way out of the bathroom.

* * *

After taking that towel off that was still wrapped around his waist, and put on some clothes, the boy went down to the living room. Damon was already in there pacing hurriedly up and down while talking on his cellphone in angry tones. Once he saw Jeremy come in, he threw the phone aside and poured himself another drink.

"Trouble in the office?" asked Jeremy mockingly, sinking to a chair next to the fire, his legs over the coffee table. "Can I help?"

"Yes, the help of a sixteen year old child is exactly what I need at this moment" said Damon sarcastically, shoving Jeremy's legs off the coffee table.

"You know if you would let me help, I could share a lot of information" said Jeremy point-blank.

Damon gave out a snort, "you don't have any information"

"Well maybe I do" said Jeremy defiantly, standing to his feet and drew himself up to his full height, but he was still a lot shorter than Damon.

There was a heavy pause while Damon considered this.

"You don't have any information" Damon repeated, and this time he sounded completely convinced. He knew that Jeremy was not good with secrets. If he had even the slightest suspicion he would automatically run to him hoping to make himself useful, it was one of the things he liked about this kid.

"Okay" said Jeremy defeated, "then when will you start training me again"

Damon rolled his eyes, setting down his glass.

"My leg is fine, I can even run if you want me to" said Jeremy even though his hand was patting fondly the gun that was hanging from his buckle-belt ever since Mr. Bell attacked him.

"You're not ready yet" said Damon putting on his jacket. "And I'm too busy"

"Busy? Doing what?" Jeremy kept following him around the living room, trying to keep up with the vampire pace.

"None of your business. Go do your homework"

"Why can't I help? You know that I can! And don't start with the whole 'I'm a human' story, Matt is a human too and you let him get involved"

"Because!" Damon pressed on, "Because I said so!"

"What does that even mean?!" yelled Jeremy, frowning at the injustice of these words.

"It means that you live in my house, by my rules"

"I'd be more than happy to move out!" Jeremy shouted back.

"Too bad you can't" Damon's face returned to his favorite irritating fashion, "so suck it up and quit acting like a brat" he grabbed his cellphone from the coffee table and left the house, leaving Jeremy alone still fuming.

* * *

Jeremy was sitting in the living room, his legs accidently-on-purpose over the coffee table, reading the hunger games while waiting for Damon to return. The vampire had left over two hours ago, giving Jeremy enough time to make up his case and prepare for a round two of the same argument he started that morning. Stefan was still missing which partly was very fortunate since he could speak to Damon in privet and not have Stefan over his head trying to force on him all the stupid discipline methods he'd been picking up from the 'Good Discipline, Great Teenagers' book that he got secretly from the library, but another part of him sort-of-kind-of missed him. He liked to spend his free time annoying Stefan and watch his face turn into that mask of grudge, even though that last part was never that hard.

Somebody hammered hard on the door, pulling the boy out of his thoughts and making him jump up from his seat, his hand touching mechanically the handle of his gun. He lived long enough in the Salvatore Boarding house to know all too well that only vampires and girl scouts paid visits to the Salvatore brothers, so unless that intruder had cookies, he would need the gun.

He walked slowly toward the door, trying not to make any sounds and glanced through the peephole. A young looking courier was standing at the doorway; a huge box that could fit inside a whole grown man was placed near his legs. He saw the man bend forward and knock on the door one more time. Jeremy threw himself back and hid his gun under his shirt and trying to act as normal as he knew how, he opened the door.

"Delivery for Mr. Damon Salvatore" said the man without really looking at the notes in front of him and instead examining Jeremy critically.

"Um, yeah, he is not here at the moment, can I get it?" said Jeremy, trying to think of what could have possibly Damon had ordered and why did he leave since he was expecting his package to come. Maybe he forgot…

"You live here?" asked the man in a commanding sort of voice.

"Yeah…"

"Are you a relative?"

"Sort of…" said Jeremy slightly annoyed, why did everybody wanted to know so bad if he was related to the Salvatores? And what was his answer supposed to be? "Either give me the package or come back later"

"Sign here" the man shoved his clipboard into Jeremy's hands, clearly not in mood to make a second visit to the house.

Jeremy caught the pen from the side and signed the paper; he gave back the clipboard and bent down to get the package, when the man pushed him away from it with a little hiss. "It's too heavy for you" he said, picking up the box from the ground with what appeared to be great difficulty, "Where do you want me to leave it?"

"Just put it inside" said Jeremy with an indifferent shrug.

Jeremy moved aside and watched the man as he made a flat-footed step over the threshold.

"Are you alone in the house?" asked the man, setting the box down near the stairs.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows, suddenly starting to feel that letting that man inside was a very big mistake. As he came to this conclusion, Jeremy smiled pleasantly, and pressed his hand instinctively on top of his hidden gun.

"No, my uncle is here" he lied, to which the stranger smiled, as though knowing he was completely alone.

"What's your name?" he asked Jeremy, while walking around the corridor and peeking slightly inside the living room, he looked as though he was searching for something.

"Um, Jeremy" said the boy, starting to feel more and more nettled. "So thanks for bringing this in" he motioned toward the door.

"Jeremy?" the man turned suddenly around at him, "Jeremy Gilbert?" he asked in a frantic voice.

"Yes" said Jeremy tensely and without further ado pulled the gun out of his belt, pointing it in the man's direction, but to his great astonishment he saw that the place the stranger was standing only seconds ago was empty. He stared wildly around and waited with beating heart for the man to attack, but he never did.

The stranger was still in the house, he could feel his glare darted upon him. Who was this man? How did he know his name? What was he doing in the Salvatore house? He was obviously not looking for him; he was genuinely surprised when he heard of his name, but if he wasn't there for him, what did he want?

The man approached him quietly from behind and caught his arm in a grip of steal; the gun slipped through the boy's fingers and fell down on the ground. Jeremy dived down for it, but the vampire tackled him and before he could realize it he was getting strangled for a second time that week.

"Where is the stone?" the vampire pressed tightly on Jeremy's neck.

"The what?" Jeremy struggled to sound out.

"The stone!" the man roared inside his ear, his fingers growing deeper inside the boy's flesh.

Jeremy was racking his brains trying to understand what the man was saying. He was searching for a stone; he didn't know anything about a stone, did he? "In the study!" he screamed, expecting to feel the familiar sensation of his neck cracking, but for one more time the vampire surprised him. He stood up and as though he completely forgot about the boy's existence, moved toward the end of the hall.

This time Jeremy was not willing to make the same mistake, he ducked up front and grabbed his gun that was lying at the legs of the console table and pulled twice the trigger.


	23. A Real Salvatore

Damon and Jeremy stood shoulder to shoulder, arms folded, staring at the dead vampire lying on top of the carpet, in the middle of the living room.

"You had a whole house to your disposal to kill a vampire and you just had to do it on my most expensive rug" said Damon disdainfully, slapping Jeremy on the back of the head.

"Would you feel better if he killed _me_ on your most expensive rug?" said Jeremy in a small voice.

"Yeah, yeah, now go to your room and think of what you've done" said Damon, nudging the vampire with his toe, as though to make sure he was really dead.

"You're joking, right?" said Jeremy, his face set for a fight.

"Yes, I'm joking you idiot, grab a hand" Damon leaned down and took a closer look at the body, "that's what you get for coming in my house" he spoke to the man.

"Do you know him?" asked Jeremy him too kneeling down.

"No" Damon shook his head, "what did he say?"

"Stuff" Jeremy shrugged, "none of it really made sense. He left that box" he pointed at the human size box that stood sealed next to the stairs.

Damon made the distance in one swift move and carelessly ripped the box apart.

"It's empty" he glared at Jeremy, rather accusingly. "Did he say anything else?"

Jeremy stood still for a few seconds, thinking whether or not to tell Damon about the vampire knowing his name "he mentioned something about a stone"

"A stone?" Damon repeated, pursing his lips, "a moonstone? Isn't he a little late for that?"

"I don't know, that's what he said"

"Well he isn't going to be any help now" said Damon examining from afar the clean shot in the heart that was the cause of the vampire's death, and Jeremy knew he was impressed against his will. "Oh that's just great, he stained my Persian rug!" Damon moved back to the body, trying to scrap the little red mark off his rug.

"Actually, I did that…" Jeremy confessed, holding up his hand.

"If I ever see you again with those crayons of yours in my living room, you'll have his fate!" Damon indicated the dead vampire "Is that clear?"

"Fine…" Jeremy nodded boringly.

"Now let's move him before he leaks blood everywhere"

* * *

Damon carried the vampire outside and threw him brutally inside the trunk of his car.

"So, today you will learn how to dispose a body" he announced cheerfully, clapping his hands together and motioned Jeremy to the car. "That's for you by the way" he passed him a little pharmacy paper bag.

Jeremy gave Damon a perplexed look and opened the bag; "you got me a razor?" he pulled out a razor similar to Alaric's.

"You are going to need one. I like Ric but his razor is good as trash" Damon kept his eyes on the road, pretending to not even see Jeremy sitting next to him.

"Thanks…" Jeremy nodded, and threw the bag on the backseat.

Damon drove in silence for over an hour, until they were completely out of Mystic Falls and slowed down only when he reached a small neighborhood with about three visible houses. Even though Jeremy wasn't paying much attention to the road, once he got out of the car and looked at the location, he couldn't help but notice how familiar it all seemed to him.

"Have we been here bef-?" the voice died in his throat as he didn't need Damon's answer anymore to know exactly where he took him.

A few meters away from where they stood, with drawn down shutters was the very well-known residence of his favorite history teacher.

"I don't think we should be here" said Jeremy in a very small voice, his eyes darted upon Mr. Bell's window, the one he jumped from and ruined his leg.

Damon ignored him, opening the trunk with the shovels and the dead vampire.

"No seriously, being here is not a good idea" Jeremy pressed on, trying to get in front of Damon who shoved him out of the way, "_somebody_ might see us"

"Where is that famous Gilbert bravery I keep hearing about, Jer?" Damon looked around, "plus, you forget I can compel people"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and proceeded into taking the shovel out of the trunk, but Damon snatched it off his hands almost right way.

"You carry _him_" he said indicating the vampire that should be about twice the size of Jeremy.

"He is like 220lbs!" said Jeremy with a small laugh, sure that Damon was joking.

"More or less" Damon agreed sounding quite indifferent, "You create him, you dispose him. Those are the rules buddy" said Damon shouldering the shovel and set off toward the woods.

Jeremy looked after him for a few seconds until he realized that Damon wasn't coming back and he was indeed forced to carry the body. He locked the car, hoisted the vampire over his shoulder with great difficulty and followed Damon through the deserted land.

They walked for about ten to fifteen minutes with Damon leading the way. Jeremy's whole body bent in half from the weight of the vampire crushing his shoulders; nevertheless he was walking pretty fast all things considered, not willing to give out a sign of weakness.

"This is a nice spot" said Damon stopping casually in the middle of nowhere to look around the trees and a small river.

Jeremy let the body slip from top of his shoulder and fall hurtfully onto the hard ground. He looked around several times, trying to catch a breath and understand why Damon chose this place instead of another one…let's say couple miles back.

"What's so special about this place?" he asked; his voice still weak with tiredness.

"Looks pretty" said Damon, handing the shovel over to the boy. "Make it four feet deep, eight feet long, and three feet wide"

"Wait, what?" said Jeremy confused, looking at the shovel, "You're not going to help?"

"If you are capable to kill a vampire, I trust you are capable to dig a hole too"

"And what are you going to do?" Jeremy asked in scandalized tones.

"Parental supervision"

Jeremy sighed, "Is that one of your weird ways to punish me for killing him on your rug? Because I said, I'm sorry"

Damon looked at him as though he was the biggest idiot on planet earth. "Didn't you want to train? There is your chance"

Jeremy opened his mouth to respond but shut it almost right away, defeated. He walked to the center of the field, where the roots of the trees were not getting in the way and pushed the shovel into the ground. It was soft and easy to move, as though it had recently been dug over.

Meanwhile, Damon sat down on the ground, leaned back against a well-grown tree, took out his silver flask and grinned with pure satisfaction at the body of the dead vampire laid down in front of him. Jeremy had to admit that Damon's whole attitude toward the issue took him completely by surprise. He was not even half as mad as he expected him to be, in fact he looked perfectly calm, which seemed to mock his own agitation.

Through the next half hour Damon didn't make himself any useful, if anything he managed to become even more obnoxious than usual by barking useless orders every few minutes. Jeremy was almost done digging the hole, when suddenly he heard Damon's laugh from behind his back. He turned around wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and trying to resist the need shoot Damon with the gun that was still hanging from his belt, he asked in a resigned voice, "what's so funny?"

"Ah…I just tried to picture the look on your great-grandfather, John Gilbert's face if back in the day somebody told him I'll be raising his only grandson" said Damon as he stared down at Jeremy for a moment or two, "that guy _really_ didn't like me"

"Gee, wonder why?" Jeremy muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Damon evidently heard the words, for he looked up with a gleaming smile, "Maybe that's what he had in mind" he pointed at the dead vampire and the open hole.

"No, I trust you can be a worst role model than that" said Jeremy fairly and returned to finish off with the digging.

Grabbing the vampire from both feet, Jeremy dragged him to the hole, but before he had the chance to push him in he took a careless glimpse of a little, black circle as though carved on the back of his neck. At first he thought it was some kind of a weird birth mark, but after he leaned closer he saw it was more like a wound. _He is a vampire, it can't be a wound, it would heal_; he thought, shooting a slightly nervous look at Damon who clearly noticed nothing.

He knew he couldn't stall any longer without Damon noticing and with that, lots of questions would follow, questions he did not want to answer; about the vampire, Mr. Bell, the journal, how he dislocated his leg and so he finally pushed the body inside and proceeded into covering it fast as possible with dirt.

Once he was over, Damon stood up, hid his flask back inside the pocket of his jacket and advanced toward the boy.

"Congratulations, you're officially a Salvatore" Damon clapped him on the shoulder a little harder than usual. "Now let's keep that between us, unless of course you want to go back to Denver and make more Original friends"

"I wasn't planning on telling" said Jeremy as though those words were hurtful to his intelligence, "when is Stefan coming home?"

"Why? Did you miss him?" said Damon sarcastically, his eyes gleaming in the dying sun. "Tomorrow morning" he added after seeing the tired look on Jeremy's face.

* * *

Damon and Jeremy did not speak again until they reached the Salvatore boarding house. At first he was thankful that Damon didn't feel like talking, unlike Stefan who was always up for it, but after a while that silence started to make Jeremy very uncomfortable. He could feel Damon's train of thoughts and he knew that whatever it was that this evil, vampire brain was coming up with, he wouldn't like it. Damon took far too well him murdering a vampire in cold blood and he was surprisingly calm about a stranger trying to enter the house, supposedly looking for a stone and attempting to strangle Jeremy in the process.

"Go get your schedule" said Damon kicking the entrance door shut, "Now"

Jeremy exhaled and went up the stairs to his bedroom. He unpinned from the noticeboard the schedule Stefan and Elena wrote about a week ago and headed back down. He found Damon in the living room, trying to scrub the blood stain off his expensive, Persian rug.

"Here" he passed the schedule to the vampire.

Damon took a pen from top of the coffee table, laid the paper over his knee and drew a big X from one side to the other, covering the whole content of it.

"Oh, Stefan will be pissed…" Jeremy groaned, looking over Damon's shoulder.

Damon ignored him, turned the paper the other side and wrote with big, vivid letters. 'HOME. SCHOOL. TRAINING' then he slapped the paper on Jeremy's chest and stood up from the floor.

"What's that?" asked Jeremy, reading over and over again the same three words.

"Your new program" said Damon.

Jeremy looked back at the paper and said hopefully, «When you say training, you mean like real training, right? Not lame-ass running, right?"

"Right" said Damon stiffly

"And when you say home you mean…?"

"You're not going anywhere part from school"

"No!" Jeremy interjected angrily, "No, I have friends! I have a life"

"You don't have friends and you don't have a life" Damon corrected him calmly.

"I have _a_ friend…" Jeremy pressed on, "plus you can't keep me a prisoner!"

"Sure I can" said Damon matter-of-factly.

"I just killed a vampire! I can take care of myself!" Jeremy stated, furious at this injustice. He just proved to Damon how capable he was of taking care of himself and instead of being congratulated, he was being grounded?

"You didn't kill a vampire" Damon cut him off, "You've done tons of mistakes and simply got lucky he was just an idiot and probably a newbie. Not all vampires you meet will be that stupid" Damon yelled, "Maybe next time I walk into this house it will be _you_ lying on my rug, dead!"

"Is this still about the rug…?" Jeremy turned down his tones.

"No you idiot!" Damon yelled so loud that Jeremy had to take a few steps back, "It's about you learning to protect yourself and until then you are not leaving this house!"

* * *

Even though at first Jeremy thought Damon was kidding about the not going outside rule, he soon realized he was more serious than ever. The Salvatore boarding house turned into his own private prison that Jeremy could only leave to go to school. Stefan came back on Sunday morning and not only didn't object on the new house rule but in fact suggested to homeschool the boy until further notice, a suggestion that to Jeremy's good luck was rejected after many hours of pleading, reasoning, yelling and arguing.

Going to school on Monday morning was the first time Jeremy was happy to be in school. He breathed the fresh Salvatore-free air and almost smiled while going from class to class, drawing attention from teachers who immediately thought he was stoned.

Still another surprise came to find him that day. Through everything that happened over the weekend he completely forgot that Mr. Bell was supposed to be compelled to like him. He spend over one hour playing a pen sword fight with Kylie in front of the teacher, making loud sound effects, trying to get on the man's last nerve, but not only he didn't hand him a detention, he completely ignored him throughout the whole lesson.

Of course Jeremy knew perfectly well that the teacher was not in fact compelled but only pretended to be out of fear for Damon, which made this a whole lot more fun for him.

"Your dad is a miracle worker" Kylie whispered to him after they spend twenty minutes playing paper-basketball with the class bin without as much as a simple glare from Mr. Bell. "What did he do to him?"

"Magic" said Jeremy with an evil smile and went for a three pointer.

* * *

Christmas was right around the corner and part from being on house arrest, the mark on the vampire's neck was the one thing that troubled him the most. He already tried to find the mark on the journal, thinking that if Mr. Bell and the vampire were somehow connected it would explain how the man knew his name, but there was no sign of the mark anywhere. He had to go back. He had to look at the mark one more time. That man knew his name and even though had plenty of chances given, he didn't kill him. He might have been the answer to all his questions all along. He had to go back and dig him out.


	24. The Escape

Christmas was only two weeks away and the holiday spirit had definitely touched the Salvatore boarding house, transforming it into a pink, festive bubble that all three residents of, couldn't stand to look at without hurting their eyes. Elena's need for family bonding and holiday intimacy turned to an obsession and there was no day in the calendar that she wouldn't spend adding new toys to the tree and putting more lights around the house, despite all of Stefan's hard work to contaminate the craziness. The rare moments when she was not decorating the house or singing carols, she would sit in the living room for hours with Stefan, being all annoyingly giggly planning their vacations and with that forcing Jeremy to remain in his bedroom for most of the day.

In the end they decided to spend all together their vacations in the Gilbert lake house, adding Matt to their extended little family, since Tyler, Caroline and Bonnie would all spend Christmas with their families, leaving Matt completely alone.

Getting used on having the house constantly full of people, Jeremy tried and use this to his advantage and sneak outside when everybody else were busy. For his own bad luck though, Damon was not that stupid or naïve. He had to go back; he had to see that mark again and no matter how many times he got busted and yelled at, the cause was far more important and a few threats didn't stop him from trying every time he saw a way out.

As for the stone, Damon never mentioned it again and ignored Jeremy's attempts to discuss it, even though Klaus seemed to be coming over the Salvatore house an awful lot more than anyone could handle.

Jeremy knew that if Klaus and his lovely family of Original vampires were involved , things would turn out horribly wrong and it was almost sure that somebody would end up dead, usually somebody he loved and cared about.

"This is the second day in a row. What is Klaus doing here all the time?" asked Jeremy right after Klaus had left the house in a really bad mood.

Damon didn't look very happy either, so Jeremy kept his tone impassive as possible.

"He wants to take Stefan to the prom" said Damon walking down on the porch.

"How screwed up things are if you need Klaus, of all people?" said Jeremy tailing Damon to the front yard where they used for training.

That day on the training to do list was whittling, which also happened to be by far Jeremy's least favorite activity, thus he totally sucked at it.

"Can't I just buy the damn thing?!" Jeremy yelled, his face red with frustration, chucking the horrible looking stake as far as he could, almost breaking Damon's beautiful, crystal flower pot on top of the patio table.

"Sure" said Damon checking the pot for a scratch, before he turn back on Jeremy, "Let's go right now to the vampire hunting supplies store down the corner and get you some stakes"

The boy casted him a look of great dislike but did not speak again until the end of class. Damon's mood lately was worst that usual. Before the vampire attack he was sometimes fun and maybe not even that annoying, now he was impossible to be around, barking threats and orders for no good reason. He even stopped making fun of Stefan's wussy behavior towards Elena's new obsessions. He was barely leaving the house and the times he did were usually when Jeremy was at school. All he seemed to care about was training Jeremy day and night.

The moment the boy was expecting with such longing came finally on Friday morning, the last day of school before Christmas vacations, when he accidently overheard Damon talking on the phone. Damon hanged up soon as Jeremy entered the kitchen but for his own sake Jeremy had already heard the one thing he wanted. Apparently Damon was forced to spend the rest of that day in Georgia and since he didn't look too pleased about it, Jeremy preferred to keep his mouth shut. Of course Damon getting finally out of the house didn't necessarily mean that he'll have his freedom back. Stefan would be automatically in charge of keeping an eye on him but for that he had a plan, mostly based on how insufferable his teenage hormones could get and on how much Stefan's grandpa-like neurological system would love to get rid of him.

* * *

Having those exciting news to share, Jeremy skipped his first period and went straight to the cafeteria where he found Kylie.

"Hey, what are you listening?" he sat down next to Kylie who was listening to some music, whilst finishing off her last minute homework. "One direction? Really?" Jeremy scoffed, giving her back her IPod.

"Is there a problem? They're so cute" Kylie protested taking off her headphones.

"If they are so _cute_, then why are you _listening_ to them?"

"Is there something you want, Gilbert?" Kylie turned her back on him looking harassed and mortally offended by his words.

"Yes, actually" Jeremy spoke to the girls back since she determinately kept her face averted from him. "I have plans for the two of us tonight"

"We are finally going to the movies?!" Kylie jumped up, as though she completely forgot she was mad at him precisely two seconds ago. "I've been waiting to watch 'Man of Steal' for so long!"

"Yeah…no" Jeremy bit his lip, "we are going to the woods…"

Kylie shot him a look of utmost disgust, "I hate you"

"So you're coming?"

"I wouldn't want to lose that much fun" said Kylie miserably, "will your dad be okay with that? I thought you were not supposed to go out"

"_Not _my dad and he is out of town"

"How about that other guy, Stefan. Will he let you go?"

"Sure, he just doesn't know it yet"

* * *

Stefan was in the laundry room, as usually taking the clean clothes out of the dryer and sorting them into three even piles. Jeremy walked inside and with a small jump sat on the washing machine, a dangerously confident smile across his face.

"You know, Stefan, I was thinking" he started thoughtfully.

"That's new" said Stefan, grimacing. "What do you want?"

"I should start helping around the house more. I live here too, it's not fair for you doing all the chores" Jeremy continued, ignoring Stefan's suspicious glares.

"What do you want?" Stefan repeated, throwing a new batch of wet clothes inside the dryer.

"Nothing, It's just all I see you do every single day is chores" said Jeremy with a tight smile, "You cook for me, you do my laundry, you buy my favorite cereal, you clean my room…you are basically a housewife without the sex, a maid without a payment, a Cinderella without the prince, you are—"

"I get it!" Stefan cut him off, "Seriously, whatever you want it's a no. Go bother your Guardian who signed up for this"

"I would, but I can't" said Jeremy with a sigh, "he went to Georgia, so maybe we could spend some quality time together" he added rather too excitedly.

"Just go do your homework" said Stefan, and Jeremy was very pleased to identify a trace of panic in his voice. It was obvious that the last thing Stefan wanted to do on Friday evening was to endure all of Jeremy's snarky comments toward him, unable to snap his neck despite how much he might have wanted to.

"Don't have any. School is out"  
"Then go play some videogames" said Stefan feeling captured.

"Can't, you confiscated them all" said Jeremy with a smirk "Unless of course you want to give them back" he added though he knew all too well that this would never happen, since according to Stefan's new favorite book "Teen Parenting Do's and Don'ts" rule number one was: Don't give in, don't bend the rules.

Stefan remained silent for a while, concentrating on his options that to his great displeasure turned out to be very limited.

"Why don't you go out for a walk, get some fresh air. You've been cooped up for weeks" Stefan suggested in an exasperated tone.

Jeremy's face turned all red in his attempt to not show any sign of victory.

"Nah, I wish…but Damon said I should stay inside, he is the boss after all" he managed to make his voice sound impassive and normal as always. "I guess we could play some Pictionary"

Sure enough Stefan's face twitched at the word, evidently still pissed about the most unfair game of Pictionary he had to put up with on Jeremy's birthday a couple months ago.

"Damon is not the boss in this house. If I say you can go out it means you can go out" Stefan waved his finger in front of Jeremy's nose. "Call that little friend of yours, the one you are always with"

"Okay…" said Jeremy fighting a smile, "if you want me out, I'll go out"

"Good" Stefan turned around, back to his laundry, "and be back by nine"

"Nine?" Jeremy scoffed, "Eleven at least"

"Nine" Stefan repeated steadily, his eyes on the clothes.

"Ten…?" Jeremy kept negotiating.

"Nine thirty last offer, now get out!" Stefan seized him by the upper arm, marched him to the door and pushed him out in the corridor before snapping the door shut.

* * *

Kylie was waiting for him about a mile away from the Salvatore boarding house and was rather surprised when she saw her friend open the side door of her dad's truck and sit next to her with an enormous grin upon his face.

"It worked?" she asked disbelievingly. "Did you actually go with the plan, and it worked?"

"Yep" Jeremy smirked at her, tapping on his knees, "never underestimate my talent of getting on Stefan's nerves"

Kylie smiled back at him, shaking her head before turning the engine on.

They drove for about an hour with Jeremy showing the way, hoping that Kylie wouldn't recognize that this was the same place were Mr. Bell lived, since she's only been there once.

"You've got to be kidding me" said Kylie breathlessly, soon as they got into Mr. Bell's neighborhood. "What is wrong with you? Didn't you get enough the first time? You want to go for the sequel?"

"Actually we are not going to his house" Jeremy hurried to explain, "We are going to the woods that also happen to be next to his house"

"How convenient" Kylie scoffed stopping the car. "We are not going. What do you need there anyway?"

"It's important" Jeremy opened the door and got out of the truck but Kylie didn't follow. "You should stay here as a look out, I'll be back in an hour"

Kylie hid her face with her hands, trying to comprehend her best friend's stupidity. "Is this about the journal?" she asked watching Jeremy take a shovel out of the trunk.

"I don't know, that's what I want to find out" Jeremy bend over her window and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Lock the car, I'll be back soon. Promise"

Kylie nodded, clearly not convinced by that bright idea and with one last look on Jeremy, she pulled up her window.

* * *

Jeremy didn't find trouble remembering the location where he and Damon buried the body, only this time he made the distance faster since he didn't have to carry a 220lbs man over his shoulder.

The place looked exactly as he left it the last time. He walked to the center of the field, where the ground was still freshly dug over and pushed the shovel deep inside and started digging. The body was supposed to be in eight feet deep, just like Damon had scolded him but once he reached it, there was nothing there. He took his jacket off, feeling hot and climbed out of the hole.

This was undoubtedly the right spot. He remembered the river and the tree Damon was sitting making fun of him. The body had to be there. Maybe he just counted wrong, maybe it was deeper.

He jumped back inside and kept digging for twenty more minutes, stopping hopefully every time his shovel stumped on a rock, but the body was nowhere to be seen.

"You're not going to find him" he heard a female voice coming from behind him.


	25. A Productive Day

"Kylie?" Jeremy pulled himself up from the hole and looked puzzled at the girl. "I thought you'd stay in the truck…what do you mean he's not here?"

"He's not here, Jeremy" Kylie repeated, she was extremely pale and barely keeping her voice steady. "The vampire you and Damon buried"

Jeremy's mouth fell open as he looked back and forth, from Kylie to the empty hole, his heart beating faster with every moment passing as the fear and realization started to sink in all at once.

"How do you know?" he tried to sound casual as though her words didn't affect him to the slightest. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare to him. This was a mistake, it had to be. He was being stupid, getting into conclusions without having all the facts. He shouldn't be making accusations because he was wrong, he was stupid and he had it all wrong. Kylie wasn't a traitor, she was his best friend…his only friend…he trusted her. He couldn't have been such an idiot…

"It doesn't matter how I know it" Kylie looked around as if she was scared somebody might be watching them, "You should stop looking, you don't want to find anything" she dropped her voice to a whisper and looked at Jeremy with pleading eyes, "please stop looking"

Jeremy remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him.

"Find what? What are you talking about?" he tried to step forward but the girl backed away with a gasp.

"Stop looking, Jeremy, they will hurt you" she said, her eyes misted with tears.

"Who is going to hurt me?" Jeremy waited with a sick feeling of longing, rubbing his eyes and pinching himself to make sure he was awake, unable to believe he was actually having this conversation. Two minutes ago this girl was his friend, now he had a complete stranger standing opposite him.

"I can't tell you" the girl cried, her entire body shaking.

Jeremy felt immediately guilty and for a moment or two considered to get closer, hug her and comfort her, unable to just stand there and watch her cry. But then another dark thought occurred to him.

"Are you a vampire?" he asked slowly, but his voice sounded strict and confident, very unlike the way he felt.

"No!" Kylie shrieked so abruptly that there was no doubt she was telling the truth. "I'm like you"

"If you are not a vampire then how do you know so much about them?"

"I can't tell you" Kylie repeated bitterly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I wish I could"

"Who do you work for? Klaus?"

"The Original?" asked Kylie surprised by this question. "No, of course not. I don't work for anybody"

Jeremy covered his face with his hands, trying to hide the bitter disappointment and took a deep breath, "Why didn't you tell me this whole time that you knew?"

"Because…"

"Because you wanted to use me" Jeremy guessed.

Kylie opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out.

"You knew about Damon and Stefan all along" Jeremy continued in the same accusative tone.

"Yes, but…"

"You used me to get to them" Jeremy tuned her out.

"No!" Kylie screamed at the top of her voice, "I didn't even know you were related to the Salvatores until the party. I would never use you; I want us to be friends"

"Friends?" said Jeremy and despair seized him, even the sound of the word made him sick to his stomach, "You lied to me about everything"

"I didn't mean to!"

Tears pouring down her face, Kylie moved closer to him but this time it was Jeremy's turn to step away from her.

"So why are you telling me now? What changed?"

"I…I don't want you…I don't want you to get hurt" Kylie stuttered looking down at her feet.

"Why?" Jeremy scoffed, louder than he had intended.

The little color remaining in Kylie's face, drained from it as she looked up at the boy and whispered, "Because I love you"

Jeremy looked back at her and something rose up inside him, paralyzing every inch of his body. He wanted to say something, he wanted to yell, let her know of how angry and betrayed he felt but he couldn't…he only wanted things to go back to the way they used to before he came to that forest, before the vampires, before Stefan's arrival to Mystic Falls.

"I'm sorry" Kylie cried and before Jeremy could stop her she turned around and stormed away, leaving him standing rooted to the spot.

* * *

Kylie knew about vampires; Kylie said she loved him. Somebody took the vampire he buried in the woods; Kylie said she loved him. Others knew about him burying that body in the woods; Kylie said she loved him. Vampires knew about him and wanted to hurt him; Kylie said she loved him. It was already ten o'clock and Stefan was going to murder him; Kylie said loved she him.

How could Kylie love him? Jeremy was thinking while walking alone on the empty street. His pace was rather slow considering that he was already half hour late for his curfew and it was almost sure he would get yelled at, but he couldn't care less…_Kylie said she loved him_. But he didn't love her back…or at least that's what he thought. She knew about vampires, she lied to him and if that wasn't enough she wouldn't tell him the truth even now. Of course he didn't love her back…

He hasn't felt this betrayed ever since he find out about Kol being an Original vampire, sent from Klaus to kill him.

Jeremy glanced at the watch on his wrist and heaved a great sigh, it was ten thirty and Stefan would be furious which to his own intense astonishment gave him a weird kind of dim pleasure.

He was still around Mr. Bell's neighborhood, debating whether or not to return to the Salvatore boarding house, when he heard a police siren from the end of the road and soon after a police car stopped right beside him. The side door swung opened and a short; chubby little man walked out examining Jeremy from head to toe. The boy looked back at him and was about to keep walking when the man spoke.

"Is your name Jeremy Gilbert?"

Jeremy stopped dead and turned right around to face the Deputy.

"Are you Jeremy Gilbert?" Jeremy watched the man's fat moustache move up and down as he was talking in a broken-record sort of voice.

Jeremy moved forward and took a more careful glimpse of the man. He was compelled.

"Yes, I'm Jeremy Gilbert" he said boringly as the man was about to open his mouth to repeat the same question and threw his hands up front, for the Officer was holding handcuffs that were undoubtedly meant for him.

"Damon Salvatore says hello" said the man blankly while cuffing the boy.

Jeremy rolled his eyes as the compelled Officer shoved him into the backseat.

* * *

Driving to all the way to the police station the man didn't say one word and Jeremy guessed that Damon was saving it all for when he could have a direct physical contact with him to say everything he wanted to say; though Jeremy was not afraid to the slightest, in fact he was surprised how much he didn't care. Kylie was a traitor and he lost the body with the mark, this day couldn't possibly get any worst, even if Damon decided to kill him.

The police Officer seized Jeremy by the back of his shirt and hurriedly marched him inside the police station and didn't stop until he reached a long hallway down in the basement, where most of the lights appeared to be out. He opened a wooden door with bars on top and shoved Jeremy inside the room without a word.

Jeremy heard the key turn in the lock and the footsteps of the man as he was returning to his office.

The cell was empty part from another guy that Jeremy recognized to be from his school. He was a couple years older but he remembered him from his days in the stoner pit with Vicky.

"Didn't know that Sissies like you Gilbert end up in places like this?" said the boy named Alex…or was it Jake, Jeremy couldn't decide. In his defense all the times they met he was higher than the Empire State, trying to make out with Vicky and that guy's name was the last thing he cared about.

Jeremy ignored him and kicked a cigarette litter lying on the stone floor.

"So, what are you in for, Mr. Goody Goody?" Alex or Jake continued in the same mocking tone.

Jeremy glared at him sideways and watched as the older boy made a step closer to him.

"Murder" Jeremy pulled up his sleeves and with the same threatening tone that Damon used countless of time on him, he said, "Come near me and I'll personally make sure you won't live to see your court day, is that clear?"

The guy blinked twice, took a few steps back and sat on his bench, without saying a single word.

"Much better" Jeremy nodded, his eyes still gleaming dangerously as he leaned against the wall and took a deep, calming breath. Five minutes in jail and he already managed to turn himself into the human version of his Guardian.

Another police officer came in several minutes later; surprised by the boy's presence there but more surprised about the gun Jeremy still had in his possession, he dragged him upstairs for a short interrogation in which Jeremy said nothing. Part from that, the rest five hours slipped smoothly with him waiting in his cell for Damon to show up and kill him.

Jeremy had never sat through a longer night in his life, the time he waited seemed endless, he even thought to apologize to his cellmate just out of boredom, maybe he even had some pot on him. If there was ever a good time to start doing drugs again, jail was probably it.

He was right about to open his mouth when suddenly he heard the voice of the Deputy that took him in for interrogation, speaking from upstairs, "Which one is yours?" he asked.

"The idiot one" Damon's voice responded, he didn't sound happy.

_Definitely not happy_.Jeremy thought sinking further into his seat.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific, we don't exactly run a house of geniuses here"

"Gilbert, Jeremy" Damon said shortly and soon after, he heard two pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs, growing nearer and nearer to Jeremy's cell.

"Gilbert, it's your lucky day" said the Officer with the bald spot on top of his head and the beer belly, unhooking a pack of keys hanging from his belt and going for the lock.

Jeremy stood up and stared at Damon behind the bars and for a cowardly second seriously considered asking the policeman to leave him in there locked and beg him for a life sentence in prison…at least there he would be safe from Damon.

"Bye Alex" he waved to his cellmate that was now looking at Damon with a kind of relieved expression, thinking he was lucky he didn't have to follow this guy home.

"My name is Jake" he said scratching his head.

"Right…I knew that" Jeremy shrugged and went out in the hallway, under Damon's glare.

After Damon compelled Jeremy's gun out of the policeman and said goodbye to Sheriff Forbes, him and Jeremy walked in silence back to his car. Jeremy really didn't want to follow him in a place without witnesses, but under the circumstances he had no choice.

Damon turned on the engine of his car and soon they were on the road, driving toward the Salvatore boarding house. None of them was talking. Damon drove with his eyes still, glaring on the road while Jeremy was leaned against the window, watching his breath steaming up the glass.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered first after a while, unable to take more of this silence. He didn't mind the yelling, the constant scolding or the slaps at the back of the head, what he was scared off was that expression of silent anger, mixed with a large doze of disappointment, all ready to pop at any second.

"I'm really sorry…" he added as Damon gave him a fleeting look, but did not speak.

"I know you are" said Damon in a tone of comprehension that took him completely by surprise.

"Look, you're right. Scream all you want and you can hit me or snap my neck, I get it…I swear I won't do it ag—"

"I know you won't" said Damon, cutting through the boy's babbling. "And it's because you are free to do whatever you want from now on"

"What?" Jeremy gave a very shaky laugh.

"Yes" Damon stepped so abruptly on the brake that Jeremy almost flew through the windshield. "I can't see a reason why shouldn't you"

"Damon—" Jeremy fell silent at the look on Damon's face.

"You are not a kid anymore, right Jer?" Damon tapped on the steering wheel, his glare distinctly colder. "_You_ are sixteen now, _you_ shave and kill vampires. _You _don't need rules, _you're_ a man"

Jeremy really did not like the emphasis he put in all those 'you's'

"It's not like that…"

"It is" said Damon with a pained expression on his face, "You can take care of yourself, so now get out"

"What…?" Jeremy glanced nervously at him.

"You're a big boy, you can find your way home" said Damon looking pointedly outside his window.

Jeremy didn't need to be told for a third time, he pulled the door open and stood outside for a few seconds, looking down at Damon almost pityingly "You know what?" he started in a menacing fashion, his face contorting with rage "Why do I even bother apologizing to you? You're a dick!" he slammed the door shut behind him.

Damon didn't respond to this very impressive act of rage as Jeremy thought of it to be, and simply took off, letting him stand foolishly in the middle of the street.

"He left…!" Jeremy gaped after the car, as it disappeared behind the corner, "he actually left…what an asshole!" he could feel his face burning.

On the plus side Damon had already given him his gun back, making him wish for some random vampire to show up, just so he could shoot him down.

What he didn't expect though was to have his wish come true, and especially not so fast.

He was walking for about ten minutes when through the darkness he saw a prone, male figure lying in the middle of the street. At first he thought it must have been an accident and somebody got hurt but soon as he saw the figure move he knew he was wrong.

The man sat up and looked at the bright, starry sky, illuminating the characteristics of his face and then turned right around to pierce Jeremy with his glare.

"You" Jeremy sighed, "my favorite traitor friend, just the person I needed" he said in tones of mocking sorrow.

"What a lovely welcome, if I knew I would show up earlier" said Kol with a diabolical smile, "missed you too, mate"

"Don't call me that" Jeremy spat, "what do you want here anyway?"

Kol stood up and stretched his body with a yawn.

"Just enjoying a quiet evening" he said dreamily, walking next to Jeremy who glared at him boringly.

There was a time in his life when he actually liked Kol and even enjoyed spending time with him. He was fun and careless and he was a friend to him, but that was a long time ago, so long that he forgot how it felt to be betrayed by him…all until that very same day. How could he be that stupid? Leave his guard down and allow himself to trust another person, especially after Damon made it clear as it gets that making friends was not the strongest part of him. Maybe after all the old man had a point, why would anyone like him? He was awkward and weird not to mention kind of a nerd. He couldn't expect acceptance from anyone, he was not good enough, and he didn't deserve it. Maybe it was better this way. Be alone forever, like Damon and never endanger getting hurt by others again.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Kol, though Jeremy could tell he didn't care much for the answer.

"_Just enjoying a quiet evening_" said Jeremy with an ironic smirk to which Kol responded with a laugh.

"You know that I could kill you…right?" asked Kol, the glee in his voice even more pronounced now.

"Feel free, in fact please do!" Jeremy walked past the Grill that was closed by now.

"Bad day, huh?" said Kol, slightly put out. He always liked a little panic as a response to his death threats but little Jeremy wasn't that kind of person.

"You care?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not" Kol reassured him and they kept walking in silence.

"You know what? I have something to cheer you up" Kol jumped up after five minutes, since he started getting bored by Jeremy's company.

"Doubt it" Jeremy ignored him.

"Alright…" Kol stood still speaking to a random headline about the importance of vegetarianism. "I guess I won't tell you then the little something I know about a resurrection stone…"

Jeremy stopped dead in the middle of the street; he slowly turned around and looked at Kol as though he just realized he was there with him this whole time.

"What does it do?" he asked carefully.

"Resurrects people, what do you think it does you twat?" Kol rolled his eyes, "did you get dumber or something?"

"Where is it?" Jeremy ignored Kol's last comment.

"Good question" Kol paced thoughtfully around him, "It got stolen this morning from my family's safe deposit in Atlanta, Georgia"

"Is that what Damon was doing there?" Jeremy spoke quietly to himself, "How did your family get the stone in the first place?"

"It belongs to us. My mother was the witch who originally create it soon after we all got turned to vampires, as a way to bring us back to life if anything happened"

"Wait…" Jeremy called a halt, looking suspiciously around the empty streets, "why are you telling me all this?"

"Klaus wants the stone to remain a secret and I want to piss of Klaus" Kol shrugged, "it was nice to see you again though, we should go shoot some pool for old time's sake"

"Yeah, I'll be sure to write that down on my calendar" said Jeremy sarcastically, his mind still going on about the stone.

Kol promptly turned away from the boy and was about to leave, when he heard Jeremy calling after him.

"Oh and Kol, I forgot" Jeremy tugged the gun out of his belt, "That's for Denver…mate" he pulled the trigger twice, aiming for his stomach.

Kol fell a few steps back with a painful groan.

"Fair enough" he gave an audible laugh, helping the bullets out of his healing flesh, right before he swept through him quick as lightning into the darkness.

* * *

By the time Jeremy returned to the Salvatore boarding house it was about three o'clock in the morning, though from what he could see Damon was still not inside, since the only car parked outside was Stefan's.

He pushed the front door open very half-heartedly and as he expected it from all along the lights were on and Stefan was waiting for him sitting in the first two steps of the staircase, reading "Gone with the wind" for a millionth time.

"Good morning Stefan" Jeremy tried to move past him, but Stefan pushed him back.

"Where were you?"

"Well at first I was at the woods, then I went to jail, then Damon picked me up, and then he left me by the old hospital and told me to walk back home" said Jeremy counting on his fingers, "productive day"

"Jeremy, I hate violence" Stefan stated, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "You know how much I hate violence, right?"

"Yes" Jeremy nodded, thinking that this was probably not the right moment to remind Stefan of his Ripper days.

"Well I do" Stefan shook his head, "But I swear if it wasn't for tomorrow and giving Elena the perfect family vacations, I would beat you up senseless" he said in a low rumble sort of voice, " do you understand me?"

"Yes Stefan I do, and I want you to know how much I appreciate for not beating me up senseless for the sake of my sister" Jeremy smiled brilliantly at Stefan and with that climbed the stairs back to his room.


	26. Jingle Bells Suck

It was two minutes after Jeremy finally fell asleep when his alarm clock announced in the most annoying possible way that it was time for him to get up. He rolled from side to side with his blanket over his head trying to come up with excuses good enough to help him stay in bed.

His brain was overflowed with new information about the vampire missing, about the mark on that guy's neck and the resurrection stone that had been stolen from the Original family but stupidly enough, all he could think about was Kylie and that 'I love you' bomb she dropped on him right after she revealed herself to be a traitor. His life was miserable enough, the last thing he wanted was a horribly awkward, three hour long road trip to the lake house with the two Salvatore brothers, both of whom seemed very willing to snap his neck, as well as spend two weeks trapped in that lake house with Mystic Fall's most cheesy couple. He had witnessed enough of Stefan's and Elena's make out sessions around the Salvatore mansion, having them all lovie dovie over the Christmas break, unable to hide in his room was just too much for him to handle.

He finally stood up, made his bed in an attempt to get on Stefan's good graces and kicked his empty suitcase on his way to out. The moment he pulled the door open he fell face to face with Stefan who seemed about to knock. Stefan too had evidently been up the whole night, preparing and organizing every little detail to make sure everything would be perfect for Elena's perfect "family" vacations.

"Good, you're up" he groaned at Jeremy. "Did you pack your stuff?"

"Yeah, about that—"

"You're going" Stefan cut him off, folding his arms.

"Do I really have to? Let's be honest, you don't even want me there" said Jeremy, sounding depressed.

"But Elena does, so not only you'll be there but you'll smile and laugh and make sure she thinks you're having fun"

"No" said Jeremy plainly, shifting his shoulders.

Stefan unfolded his arms and pointed a finger in Jeremy's direction.

"Jeremy, I'm a patient guy…a very patient guy, but its either you pretend to have fun in front of your sister or I swear I'll beat you up senseless" he said, poking Jeremy hard on the chest with his finger.

"Is that so?" said Jeremy in an 'I'd like to see you try' sort of voice.

They stared at each other for few minutes, both seemingly unable to speak or blink, until Jeremy caved and shook his head boringly, "Fine" he waved his hands around, "I'll do it, but I want my videogames back, _mom_"

Stefan's brow furrowed as he was going through his options.

"Fine" he said stiffly, already regretting his decision. "They're in my room, top shelve over the towels"

Feeling that the day was not going to be a complete disaster after all, Jeremy took back his confiscated videogames from Stefan's room and shoved them all inside his formerly empty suitcase, covering them up with a couple shirts he found on the floor and made his way outside.

He was still halfway down the staircase when he heard the front door open, announcing Elena's and Matt's arrival to the boarding house. Stefan was already at the entrance hall welcoming the newcomers when Jeremy joined them.

"Aren't you excited?" Elena pulled her little brother in a rib-crushing hug.

"I'm…" Jeremy paused thoughtfully, looking at Stefan mouth to him the word '_senseless_' behind Elena's back. "So excited…" he breathed the moment his sister finally let go of him.

"Of course he is, it's all he's been talking about since last week" said Stefan satisfyingly, squeezing buddy-like Jeremy's shoulder.

As expected, the ride to the lake house ended up being couple of the most awkward hours of his entire life, right after the time he tried to kiss Vicky when he was fourteen and almost chocked on his own tongue. He was sitting in the backseat of Stefan's car, between Matt and Elena with only view the heads of the two Salvatore brothers. If there was one person inside that car that wished more than Jeremy to be anywhere else in the world at that moment, that would definitely be Matt who had sunken so low in his seat, he was barely visible. They exchanged a silent look of mutual understanding and heaved a long, silent sigh at Elena's joyful expression.

As they reached the lake, Matt opened the door while the car was still moving and with ninja-like reflexes jumped out of the car and waited till Stefan parked properly to get his suitcase out of the trunk. Stefan and Elena went after him inside the lake house while, Jeremy stayed back on the pretense of helping Damon with the rest of the stuff.

"Can't believe we have to spend here ten days…" Jeremy muttered pulling one of Elena's countless bags filled with the useless things she packed.

Damon glared at him sideways but refused to say anything.

"Are you still mad at me?" Jeremy gaped at him, "you abandoned me in the middle of the street yesterday. I thought we were even"

"Stop talking" Damon pushed his hands out of the way and closed the trunk with a loud thud. "And why are you being such a dick to my brother?"

"Because I can…" Jeremy said, feeling glad that Damon was at least speaking to him. "Plus he is the one who started it"

"He is doing it for you, you idiot!" Damon shook his head in an exasperated sort of way.

"What do you care anyway? You treat him like a jerk all the time" said Jeremy evenly, taking his suitcase from Damon.

"That's because he is my brother, it's my birth right to make his life miserable"

"So…technically it's my right to make Elena miserable, because if so, I'm out of here"

Damon's lips curled into a tight smile.

"You live in my house, you have no rights" he wrapped his arm around Jeremy's shoulder and walked him to the entrance of the lake house, "you should have figured this a long time ago…" they both stopped dead at the threshold, peeking inside, slightly open mouthed.

Just like the Salvatore mansion, the Gilbert lake house was barely recognizable due to a little pre-vacations trip Elena and Caroline seemed to have a few days ago and clearly went over the top with the decorations. Huge fluffy Santa Claus' and creepy snowmen were smiling at them from pretty much every corner. Still, flakes made out of cotton were all over the floor, making it seem as though it had been snowing indoors. Giant stockings filled with candy were hanging from the fireplace; mistletoe was elevating over their heads, Christmas garlands, lights and wreaths tangled around the staircase and walls, while in the middle of the lounge was placed the biggest Christmas tree Jeremy had ever seen, decorated with hundreds of toys and lights.

"This is…" Stefan who was clearly as surprised as everybody else was striving to find the right word to describe…this, "…beautiful" he muttered at last, though Jeremy was sure that was not what he meant to say at all.

"Did Rudolph the reindeer threw up in here?" said Jeremy trying to look away from the flickering lights that were now giving him a headache.

"You don't like it…?" asked Elena anxiously.

"Of course he likes it!" Stefan pulled Jeremy inside from the threshold were the boy was still standing, "don't you buddy?" he asked in a falsely-sweet voice, his eyes fixed unblinkingly upon Jeremy.

Jeremy took a second to look around at Elena's hopeful face and Stefan still mouthing carefully to him the word '_senseless_'. "It's…different" he said slowly, "but nice"

Elena smiled broadly which worked as a signal for Stefan to let go of Jeremy and follow her upstairs to the bedrooms.

The bedroom arrangements were apparently made days ago and as always Jeremy didn't have a say in it so he ended up sharing a room with Matt, which didn't bother him, on the contrary he liked being around Matt even though lately they haven't spent that much time together. Elena agreed with delight to share her room with Stefan, while Damon took the master bedroom at the end of the corridor. At first Jeremy wasn't sure how to feel about Damon staying at the room his parents used to sleep in, but then realized it was stupid to worry about things like a lame room, despite the memories he might have had in there.

"First Christmas without Jenna and Ric" Elena muttered sadly to Jeremy, while the two of them were alone getting clean sheets from the storage.

"Second without mom and dad" Jeremy added with a forced smile.

Elena let down the pile of sheets she was holding and pulled him into a quick hug, "this is going to be fun, I swear" she said bracingly.

"I know" Jeremy shook his head, "Stefan is making sure of that"

Elena smiled at him encouragingly, trying her best not to get all teary and went out the door, forgetting completely to take the sheets with her. Jeremy rolled his eyes, picked up the stuff and went after his sister.

* * *

Jeremy spent most of the next few days hiding. He liked stealing Alaric's old crossbow from Damon's trunk and go on long walks around the property, having shooting contests with Matt who proved himself to be a horrible shooter. Though Matt had about twice the size and strength of Jeremy and could easily kick his ass, when the matter came to using the crossbow, Matt was as good as a seventy year old man with Parkinson decease.

"You're good at that" Matt noticed as Jeremy got the bullseye for a second time in a row on the wooden plank they used as target.

"Shame I can't say the same about you" Jeremy smirked, walking to the plank to retreat his arrow.

"Ha-ha…" Matt picked up the crossbow from the ground and loaded it with a new arrow, "how did you get so good?" he asked while aiming.

"Practice…" Jeremy shrugged watching Matt's arrow go completely out of track.

"Damon?" Matt guessed at once, frowning at the crossbow.

"Yeah" Jeremy admitted, "but don't tell Elena, she'll freak out"

Matt nodded and went out of the way as Jeremy was about to shoot.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve and since going out on one of their walks was forbidden by both Damon and Stefan, Jeremy and Matt decided to stay in and play videogames in the lounge while Elena made her first attempt to cook Christmas dinner.

"Is there somebody in this house kind enough to help me?" she winked playfully from the kitchen.

Predictably Stefan was the one to volunteer himself first and standing up from the couch, where he was sitting next to Damon, he skipped to the kitchen.

"At least now we are not going to get a food poisoning" Jeremy commented quietly, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Matt gave a little laugh while Damon groaned in an 'I wouldn't count on it' sort of way.

"Want to play?" Jeremy took out an extra controller from his bag and waved it in front of Damon's face.

Damon lowered his newspaper and watched Jeremy's face closely before responding, "Maybe later" he stood up and went to join Stefan and Elena in the kitchen. Jeremy stared after him for a few seconds before turning back to the screen. Damon hasn't been himself ever since the night he got arrested. At first Jeremy thought it was because he was angry at the fact he disobeyed him but then he realized it was the same day when the stone got stolen. Damon wasn't Stefan; he wouldn't hold a grunge against him, if he was mad he would let it be known. It had to be about the stone.

The dinner was supposed to be ready at six o'clock but since the first attempt got burned and they had to start all over again, dinner was served at ten o'clock when everybody sat down at the table, starving. Elena's glee and excitement about having the house full of loved ones on Christmas Eve was contagious, they all seemed to be unusually happy and talkative, teasing and laughing at each other, even Jeremy pretended to have fun in order to preserve the good atmosphere.

"I'm surprised you two didn't go for a walk today" said Elena speaking to Matt and Jeremy.

"What I'm surprised at is that Jeremy is actually spending time with me" Matt started, smiling at Jeremy, "I thought you'll be blowing me off to be on the phone with that girl from school"

"Yeah…that's not going to happen…" Jeremy muttered bitterly, looking awkwardly around the table, "we are not friends anymore"

Matt's smile faded right off his face. There was a small pause.

"You are such an idiot" Damon set down his fork with a loud clattery sound, breaking the silence "How did you manage to screw up a relationship with the only person that agreed to speak to you?"

"What do you care?" Jeremy barked at him indignantly, "I thought you were still mad at me—"

"Wait" Elena interjected, "why would he be mad at you?" she asked, her eyes going back and forth from the vampire to her little brother, a notch of annoyance in her voice, something that Stefan's perfect-boyfriend radar didn't fail to notice and hurried to put a stop into this conversation.

"He didn't clean his room" he explained, eyeing Jeremy intently. "_Senseless_" he whispered to the boy as Jeremy opened his mouth to argue.

"Did you just say '_senseless_'?" asked Elena frowning.

"Yeah, it's a little word game me and Jeremy have" said Stefan with an unconvincing smile.

Jeremy groaned as Matt kicked him from under the table, the moment Jeremy opened his mouth one more time to retaliate.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and stood up from the table, making a mental note to vervain Stefan first change he got.

* * *

It was around three o'clock in the morning and Jeremy was still lying in his bed, listening to Matt's snoring as he was trying to fall asleep. He was thinking of Kylie and how much he missed her. He could easily forgive her about having secrets from him, after all it wouldn't be the first time somebody betrayed his trust, but their friendship was never going to be the same ever again after the whole 'I love you' thing. He would give anything to just call her and hear her voice whine to him, about how horrible of a friend he was for still not taking her to the movies to watch 'man of steel'.

He pushed the blanket off of him and stood up. The floor was cold underneath his bare feet as he tiptoed to the door and quietly forced it open, trying to not wake Matt up.

Walking down the hallway he heard the sound of the TV coming from the lounge, as well as a fading, dim light. He knew that Stefan and Elena were both in bed, since they went to sleep almost at the same time he did, which only leaved Damon.

Having that in mind, Jeremy stumped down the stairs and surely enough found Damon sitting on the couch, eyes darted blankly at the TV, watching 'High school musical'.

"Go to bed" he said without turning to look at the boy.

Jeremy ignored him, stepped over the cotton flakes that were still decorating the floor, kicked the big, creepy Santa Claus out of the way and jumped in the spare seat next to Damon.

"Merry Christmas" said Jeremy raising his arms in mock celebration. "You're not drinking" he noticed, "Did you finally realize that being an alcoholic vampire is redundant?"

"Go to bed" Damon repeated, a smile stretching in his mouth.

"Can't sleep" Jeremy muttered distractedly, looking at the TV where Troy Bolton was singing some song using a basketball.

"Thinking about your little girlfriend?" Damon seemed to have guessed the truth and smirked at Jeremy's defiant expression. "You're an idiot"

"You don't know what she did" he looked up at Damon.

"Enlighten me"

Jeremy felt his face burn, "she said she loves me" he said quietly, his face bright red, almost feverish, feeling stupid by even just pronouncing this word.

"That little bitch!" said Damon in a falsely outrageous voice. "Do you love her?"

"No" said Jeremy at once, "…I don't think so"

"Do you think she is hot?"

"I don't know…" Jeremy tried to bring Kylie's image into his mind, the same image he has been pushing away for the past few days. He could almost see her big, dark eyes staring at him and feel the smell of her hair…how much he missed that smell.

"She is beautiful" he said slowly, realizing the truth of his words for a first time. He never saw before how beautiful she was; he never even bothered to think of her as a girl.

"There you have it" Damon clapped him on the knee and stood up. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling a big bottle of eggnog out of it.

"Want some?" he asked Jeremy, searching for the cups.

Jeremy nodded absentmindedly, his brain still going about Kylie.

"No!" He jumped up suddenly as he realized what Damon was about to do. "Don't drink that!"

Damon brought the glass closer to his face and smelled the content of it. "Vervain?" he glared at Jeremy, waiting for an explanation.

"It's for Stefan…" the boy admitted half-heartedly, "I know you asked me to stop bullying him, but he is asking for it!"

"How do you know Elena is not going to drink this?" Damon got rid of his spiked eggnog inside the sink.

"She hates eggnog and I knew you would never go for it as long as there was Bourbon standing next to it" Jeremy explained with a smirk.

Damon didn't say anything, he simply picked up the bottle of eggnog, put the lid on as though this conversation had never happened and returned the bottle back in its original place inside the fridge.

"Is the Xbox proposal still on?" he asked Jeremy, making his way back to the lounge.


	27. The Calm Before The Storm

Christmas in the Gilbert lake house went by uneventful, which came as a great surprise to everyone who though that a murderous-vampire free Christmas wasn't possible. Of course it was common knowledge that they all had to thank Stefan for it who probably had to sell his soul to Klaus in exchange for those two peaceful weeks. Though instead of a pat on the back and a 'thank you', what Stefan got was a glass of eggnog laced with vervain. As expected it didn't take him long to figure out the person that was responsible for it, but trying to live up to his perfect-boyfriend image, he swallowed his rage and decided to deal with Jeremy after the holidays, preferably in a place where nobody could hear the boy scream.

Despite the constant mess, bickering and arguing, Elena seemed to be enjoying "family" time more than anything. She looked gleeful and cheery and she wasn't crying as usual. Jeremy liked to see her like that again. Knowing that his sister was finally happy was the one thought that sustained him and helped him endure several days of festivity without complaining. Well…that and the private training session he, Mat and Damon shared almost every day.

"Quarterback, you suck!" Damon commented and Jeremy snorted. They were sitting on a rock, next to the frozen lake, watching Mat shoot from the crossbow at a wooden target that Damon carved out of boredom about a week ago.

"Can I get my turn now?" said Jeremy with a shiver, breathing into his palms in an attempt to defrost them.

"No" Damon put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from standing, "He'll keep trying until he gets it right" he motioned Matt to pick up another arrow.

"Can we go inside?" Matt yelled, trying to keep his arms steady but his fingers felt numb from the cold, "It's freezing out here!"

"What are you talking about? The weather is great" Damon held up a handful of snow, aiming for Matt's head.

"Easy for you to say, you're dead" Jeremy muttered, wrapping his arms around his body, shaking. "How many more days do we have left till this hell is finally over?"

"Oh stop whining. Your life at home is just as dull and miserable as it is here"

Jeremy grimaced at the truth of those words. He didn't really mind the lake house, the wild Christmas decorations or Stefan making out with his sister. His problem and cause for most of his complaining was the fact he missed Kylie so much. He would give anything to just hear her voice again ranting about 'One Direction', plot together against Mr. Bell and discuss about all of Jeremy's new findings.

"I know about the resurrection stone" he blurted out in a moment of weakness, "Kol told me the night you blew me off" Jeremy looked at Matt who was too busy concentrating to pay any attention to the conversation.

The boy remained silent for a few seconds, waiting for Damon's head to explode, something that to his great displeasure never happened.

"You knew?" he turned abruptly at Damon who kept whittling a stake with his typical 'I-don't-care-I-know-everything' sort of expression, that Jeremy hated even more than his snarky comments. "You knew that I knew?"

Damon didn't respond and merely shook his head to indicate that he was not completely ignoring what the boy was saying.

"How?" Jeremy gaped at him.

"I was there that night" Damon turned his head slightly to the left, to find a sharper edge on his stake.

"What?!" Jeremy shrieked so loudly that Matt dropped the crossbow, accidently sending an arrow in Jeremy's direction, who ducked down last moment to avoid it.

"Sorry…" Matt bit his lip and retrieved his crossbow from the ground, avoiding Damon's disdainful glare.

"You followed me?" Jeremy leaned closer to Damon so Matt couldn't hear him, "Why did you follow me?"

"Because you're an idiot and also a Gilbert; which means you have a natural talent for trouble" Damon spat and pushed the kid away from him.

"Aw, that's so sweet" Jeremy started mockingly, "Big, bad vampire Damon, cares about me"

Damon chose not to answer and instead he turned to Matt and barked at him, "Are you really that stupid, Donovan? You've been doing the same thing for an hour; a two year old would have done it by now!"

Matt's face changed to an expression of raw determination, hidden underneath the red of its color.

"Any guesses who took the stone?" asked Jeremy, wondering whether Damon would answer.

"Nope" the vampire threw his brand new stake to the pile and grabbed another plain piece of wood.

"I do…" Jeremy scratched his head, "Mr. Bell could have done it"

For a first time, Damon showed the emotion Jeremy was expecting him to. He set down his unfinished stake, turned face to face with the boy and said in his most dangerous voice, "Spill"  
Jeremy took a deep breath, while organizing his thoughts and with a steady tone he started telling Damon of everything he knew, about Mr. Bell, the night in the woods, the journal and the mark, conveniently enough forgetting to mention all the parts about Kylie being involved and about how the two of them sneaked into the teachers house to get the journal.

Throughout Jeremy's confession, Damon remained very still, listening closely to the boy, without interrupting or asking questions of any kind and waited patiently until Jeremy was over to share his thoughts.

"…So now copies of the journal are in my room" Jeremy said at last, waiting for Damon to respond.

A smack landed on the back of Jeremy's head soon after he finished his sentence. It wasn't as hard as usual, which Jeremy chose to take as a good sign of Damon not being too mad at him.

"Okay, I guess I deserved that…" Jeremy admitted, waiting for Damon's face to recover to its normal pale color.

"You guess?" Damon groaned at him, "Haven't you thought to mention all that sooner?"

"Well, I did think about it, and I did try" said Jeremy truthfully, "But you would always start yelling at me and I was pretty much pissed at you for the last three months, and then every time I wanted to tell you, you would either try give me the sex talk or interrupt me or ground me…so technically, this is all your fault"

Damon stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before landing a second smack on Jeremy's head.

"Hey! That one actually hurt" Jeremy rubbed his head angrily.

"Good!" Damon barked at him, "What about your little girlfriend?"

"What about Kylie?" asked Jeremy, though he knew exactly where Damon was going with this.

"Does she know?"

"About vampires?" asked Jeremy with a little shaky laugh, playing for time. "No, of course not"

"Are you sure?" Damon pressed on, not willing to let off the boy so easily. "I met her father the other day"

"Yeah, he works at the Town Hall with Major Lockwood" said Jeremy knowledgably, trying to understand why was Damon bringing this up now.

"That's not all he does" Damon said bluntly, "he also is a member of the 'Founders council'"

Jeremy's jaw dropped. He did not see that coming, but now he came to think of it, it was the one thing explaining Kylie's odd behavior that actually made sense. With Mr. Atkins working at the council, it was sure that he had the access to lots of information regarding vampires and of course, Kylie being just as nosy as he was, overheard some of the things he said. That's why her father didn't like him from day one. He knew that Jeremy was living with vampires, he knew everything…but if so, why didn't he already try to expose the Salvatores or Elena.

"You didn't know about that, did you?" Damon noticed as Jeremy nodded, still looking numbly surprised. "Now are you sure she knows nothing about vampires?" he asked again, this time less threateningly.

"Yes, I'm sure" Jeremy crossed his fingers behind his back, and to make his lie more believable he added, "She thinks vampires sparkle"

At the last comment Damon's face changed to a more indifferent fashion and nodded at the boy. "I'm gonna need to see that journal"

"Yeah, fine, whatever" Jeremy shrugged, very relieved that Damon was letting go of the 'Kylie related questions' and wanting to keep it this way he said, "it's not very useful you know, half of it is in Ancient Greek and it's full of Runes and symbols"

"Let me worry about that" Damon shook his head, seemingly still pissed about Jeremy hiding all this information for such a long time, "What exactly did you hope to accomplish by not telling me all this before?"

"Nothing, really" Jeremy admitted, "What are you going to do now?"

"First I'll kill that history teacher of yours"

"You think he has the stone?" Jeremy asked hopefully. He found it very hard to be sympathetic toward Mr. Bell after he tried to strangle him, not to mention he was still convinced that the teacher had something to do with the vampire coming to the Boarding house, and who also tried to kill him.

"Don't know, don't care" said Damon picking up his knife and the stake from where he left them and continued whittling. "He's been enough trouble already"

"Oh come on, if you're going to kill him at least have a reason" said Jeremy half-heartedly, very much aware that he was throwing away a decent chance to get rid of Mr. Bell once and for all, "Plus think about my education, it's the middle of the school year, who will be my history teacher if you murder this one?"

"Maybe I should be your history teacher" he stopped whittling again and stared at his stake thoughtfully, "If Ric could do it, everybody can. I'm a living, well…not so living, history"

Jeremy needed a few seconds for his brain to process that statement, "NO!" he waved his hands around as he struggled to force words out of his mouth, "You're joking…no…it's not funny…NO!"

"Why not?" Damon motioned for Matt who was staring puzzled at them to keep shooting, before turning back to the boy. He was clearly joking, but Jeremy was in too much of a panic attack to notice.

"On a scale of one to ten, how miserable to do you think I am?" asked Jeremy darkly.

"Nine" said Damon after three seconds of considering the question.

"Really?" Jeremy asked in mild-surprise, "I thought you'll go for the eight"

"Well, I did think about it, but then I remembered how much of a drama queen you are" Damon smiled scathingly at him, swinging his knife in front of the stake.

"Whatever" Jeremy grimaced, "Point is, if you choose to become my history teacher, I'll turn into a solid ten"

Damon's lips curled into a smile that faded almost right away, as he looked up at Jeremy, "Relax" he said pointing the stake at the boy, "despite how much I would like to see my kid reach full potential, I'm too busy to throw my time away, trying to shove some knowledge into your hormonal teenage brain"

Jeremy sighed in relief the same moment Matt shrieked like little school girl.

"I DID IT!" He ran to the target and held it up so Damon and Jeremy could see the arrow buried in the middle of it.

Damon set down his knife and his finished new stake and walked toward Matt, who handed him over the target.

"I did it" Matt repeated proudly.

"Took you long enough" said Damon, though his tone was not half as snarky and patronizing as usual.

* * *

The day after New Year's Day finally came, and with that the glorious moment of returning back home. In the last hours at the lake house, Elena's mood worsened dramatically. She became more snarky and snappy and cried every time she saw either Matt or Jeremy smile. And this time even Stefan could do nothing to stop it.

"Will you quit smiling so much?" Stefan groaned at Jeremy, after Elena ran crying up to her room at the sight of Jeremy packing.

"I might be wrong, but, weren't you supposed to beat me up senseless if I wasn't smiling?" asked Jeremy in a falsely overly polite tone, his smile growing wider.

Stefan closed his eyes as though praying for patience.

"Look Jer, Elena is sad about leaving. She wants more family time and now that we are going back to Mystic Falls she is scared to lose that" he explained with the air one has when explaining something very simple to someone exceptionally stupid. "So try to look a little less pleased"

"Family?" Jeremy snorted, "It's not like we are a real family"

"What are you talking about?" said Damon, chipping into the conversation unexpectedly, "We are a perfectly normal dysfunctional family"

"Yeah, and what do you know?" Jeremy threw his PS3 inside his suitcase, harder than intended. "Stefan told me you hated your father"

Damon glared at his brother for a while before responding, "I had my reasons, yet ironically," Damon raised his eyebrows, "I was not the son who killed him"

Jeremy's head turned so fast at Stefan, he heard his neck crack. "You killed your own father?"

"Oh, did he forget to mention that part of the story?" said Damon pleasantly, "How very surprising"

Stefan didn't say anything for a while but eyed his brother intently, as though he would have liked nothing better than to drive a stake through his heart.

"It was a very long time ago" he said nettled, "and father –"

"—deserved it" Damon completed his sentence for him.

"Point is" Stefan started again, dropping his voice as he heard Elena's footsteps coming down the stairs, "You will either choose to act sad in front of Elena, or I'll give you something to be sad about"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and frowned watching Matt and his sister walking toward them, Elena's face still red and puffy from all the crying.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" asked Stefan cautiously, feared he might be the cause of another melt down.

Elena forced a smile and Stefan looked expectantly over at Jeremy, nodding for him to say something.

"Yeah, it sucks we have to leave so soon" said Jeremy with a fake sigh, "We should do this more often" he forced the words out of his mouth with a legitimate pained expression.

For one more time, Elena burst into tears, this time though it was happy tears and pulled Jeremy into a tight hug, in front of a very satisfied looking Stefan.

"Okay" Elena let go of her little brother, her eyes completely dry now, "Let's go home"


	28. Last Day Of Freedom

The holidays were almost over and the going back to school after Christmas break, came harder for Jeremy than all the previous year's put together. Though he had been back in Mystic Falls for the past couple of days, he still haven't found courage, nor the right words to meet Kylie and try talking her into being his friend again.

When Sunday morning finally came around and he realized that this would be his last chance to make up with her before school, he tried to gather up all the leftovers of his Gilbert bravery and left home without telling to any of the Salvatore brothers where he was going, though he could swear he heard Damon yelling to him "Good luck" the moment he shut the door.

The walk all the way to Kylie's house went by very fast, though when he looked at the watch on his wrist, he saw that whole two hours had passed and he was still on square one about all the things he wanted to say to her.

'_I should have asked Damon_' Jeremy thought while climbing the marble stairs to the porch of Kylie's house. Damon was the one person who knew how to manipulate other people, everybody seemed to be always mad at him, but somehow he managed to be forgiven every single time. Not to mention Damon's hundred and fifty years of experience with the opposite sex, that still after three girlfriends and a sister remained a sealed mystery for him.

'_What would Damon do_?' Jeremy asked himself, pacing up and down the porch, dreading the moment when he had to knock on that door. '_Kill everybody_' the answer came natural to him.

Before Jeremy could think about the matter any further, he heard the front door creak open and one of his least favorite people in the world glared at him through the gap.

"What are you doing in my house, Salvatore?" barked Mr. Peter Atkins at him.

Jeremy walked to the door and stood straight in front of the man. It was impossible for him to believe that the person before him was a member of the 'Founders council' and made it his life's mission to kill people like his sister, Damon, Stefan and everybody else he ever cared about. He could almost feel the man's hate as he was watching him intently.

"Is Kylie here, Sir?" said Jeremy, trying to sound polite and casual.

"No" Mr. Atkins spat shortly and failed to slam the door in Jeremy's face, when a second force from inside held the door from closing.

George, Kylie's other dad and Jeremy's personal favorite had placed his foot in the gap and kept the door open. "Jeremy" he beamed at the boy who stared puzzled at George's abnormally good reflexes, "What a lovely surprise, we haven't seen you in a while. Peter—"he turned at his husband, "Why don't you go get Kylie, I'm sure Jeremy is not here to see us"

"She's not here" said Mr. Atkins through gritted teeth, jerking his head pointedly toward Jeremy.

"Sure she is" George winked at the boy with his dark eyes, so similar to Kylie's and turned back to his husband who seemed as though he would much rather poke his own eyes with a fork that get his daughter down for a dangerous, young boy, brought by Damon Salvatore such as little Jeremy Gilbert.

For everybody's sake, Kylie's voice came from the hallway, making Jeremy's heart leap from joy and excitement. He hadn't realized how much exactly he missed her, until he saw her standing behind her parents.

"What are do—?" the girl stopped talking soon as she saw Jeremy, and blinked twice in an attempt to make sure it was really him and not just another one of her fantasies.

Having in mind that this was an awkward moment for both kids, George seized his husband from the end of his sweatshirt and pulled him back inside the house, leaving Jeremy and Kylie alone at the entrance.

"I own a shotgun!" Peter yelled from the hallway, where George released him.

For a second Jeremy considered yelling back about him too owning a gun but then he thought he might have better chances to speak to Kylie in private if her parents ignored the fact he was armed.

"Hi…" he muttered as Kylie kept goggling at him, speechless. "Can we talk?"

"If you're here to scream about how I betrayed you, I'm not interested" she said with pride, her voice thinner and higher than ever.

"No" said Jeremy rather snappishly, "I wanted to apologize"

"_You_ wanted to apologize—?" asked Kylie foolishly, her forehead wrinkled as she raised a brow at the boy, "—to _me_?"

"Yes" Jeremy nodded, his face burning feverishly, despite all the snow around him. "I overreacted"

"No, you didn't!" Kylie stepped outside and shut the door behind her, something that Jeremy found very relieving since he was sure Mr. Atkins was eavesdropping while lovingly, dusting his shotgun. "You were right, I shouldn't have lied to you" She walked down the marble stairs and Jeremy followed her hurriedly.

They wandered off toward the playground in silence, staring at opposite directions and occasionally catching each other's eye.

"How was your Christmas?" Jeremy finally asked, changing the subject to something more casual and friendly themed, trying dispiritedly to postpone the moment when they had to talk about vampires.

"Good" said Kylie miserably, as she reached the swings and took a seat in one of them, her hands shaking as she grasped the side chains. "Yours?"

"Good" Jeremy nodded, still looking at his feet as he sat down in the last empty swing, next to Kylie.

As this was the last day of Christmas break, the playground was packed up with kids of all ages who were running all around them, screaming and enjoying the last hours of freedom, making it hard for Jeremy to listen to Kylie sigh.

"I know why you didn't tell me" said Jeremy quietly, looking everywhere but at Kylie.

Kylie raised her head and for a first time looked directly at him. Jeremy returned the look and with comprehension dawned on his face; he said slowly, "Your dad is a vampire"

Kylie clapped a hand on her lips, to keep herself from screeching.

"How do you know?" she whispered, her hand still covering her mouth.

"I didn't" Jeremy raised his eyebrows, he too looked rather shocked, "but I do now"

"Jeremy, please don't tell anyone, I'm begging you, please promise to me you won't tell" cried Kylie, looking frantically around her.

"I swear" said Jeremy truthfully, "but, it won't be long until somebody find out. Everybody in the council is there for two reasons: Either to kill vampires or protect them. And either way is not good"

Kylie said nothing for a few moments; her gaze darted distractedly upon a crying little boy who got knocked down from his bike by an older kid.

"Damon can be nice and understanding but right now, he is looking for vampires who might have stolen something that is apparently very important and _he will _kill anyone that is in his way to get it back" Jeremy added, since Kylie remained silent, still lost in thought.

At this new information, Kylie looked up and for a long moment they stared at each other. "What got stolen?"

Jeremy shrugged indifferently, "some stone, does it matter?"

"It does actually" Kylie sat up, a sparkle of excitement lit in her eyes, "You said that Damon will kill anyone who gets in his way—"

"Oh he will" Jeremy interrupted, "he won't care if he's innocent or not, Damon doesn't like mess. Either it's the house or his life; he wants it to be clean. That's why when things get slightly too messy, he starts cleaning—usually innocent people"

"Right…" said Kylie with a shudder, trying to chase away the thought of Damon killing George. "But, what if we get the stone first and hand it back to Damon. That way he won't have to find out or kill anyone"

Jeremy looked around the property thoughtfully, pushing slowly with his legs the ground covered in snow in order for his swing to move back and forth. "Could work" he glanced back over at Kylie who kept watching him with in agony of anticipation. "It could really work"

Kylie smiled satisfyingly since the idea was hers but it faded as fast as it appeared.

"But how?" she asked defeated, "we know nothing about it"

"We don't" Jeremy agreed, "But unfortunately I know somebody who does…"

* * *

The two kids spent the whole morning, seated at the swings, catching up with their latest news from the two weeks they were away from each other and formed a bright plan about their next move regarding the stone. They were so busy brainstorming ideas about how to get possession of the stone faster that they both completely forgot to mention the 'I love you' thing that Kylie dropped on him twelve days ago. A part of Jeremy wanted to say the words back, as they sat alone talking freely about vampires, Elena's melt down at the lake house and the new Superman movie, but there was still this other little side of him that was just very glad to be on speaking terms with her again and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it as always.

Before putting their plan to work and meeting Kylie at the Grill, an incident took place at the Salvatore boarding house, that if possible managed to make his day about ten times better.

"So I get the car?" Jeremy gaped at the two brothers.

Damon was bent over the fireplace, adding two extra logs to keep the fire from going out, while Stefan was seated at the couch with an opened book on his lab, clearly not agreeing with this idea to the slightest, but since he wasn't the Guardian (as Damon pointed out with a smirk) he didn't have a say in this.

"You get the car" Damon reassured him with the suspicion of a smile, as he was straightening up. If Jeremy knew before that Damon would take so well all the news about Mr. Bell and the journal, he would most certainly fess up a lot sooner.

For a brief second, Jeremy's face contorted, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation of why did Damon decided all of the sudden to step up and be his Guardian, while it was obvious that Stefan and Elena were planning to keep the car as a hostage until the boy was off to college and far from Mystic Falls. But he hurried to shake that thought away and focus on the fact he would be a driving man from now on and enjoy the moment since judging by his previous experiences, good things didn't last long.

"Can I take it now?" he asked carefully instead.

Damon pulled the familiar pair of keys from the back pocket of his jeans and threw them across the room, where Jeremy caught them with a swift move.

"This is a mistake" Stefan couldn't hold himself from saying, his eyes fixed upon his book, though they were not moving.

"I could literally hug you right now" Jeremy breathed, unable to take his eyes away from the keys. It was the most beautiful, most incredible thing he had ever seen in his whole entire life.

"Don't make me take them back" said Damon and Jeremy took two defensive steps back, before placing the keys inside his jacket with a last look of pure admiration.

"You know the terms" Stefan reminded him, looking away from his book in order to glare at the boy.

Jeremy looked again over at Damon, expecting him to say something snarky about how Stefan had no right to bossy him around but instead, Damon shifted his shoulders and nodded in agreement.

"Okay fine" Jeremy rolled his eyes, thinking that following Stefan's ridiculous safety terms was a small price to pay for driving his own car. "Can I go now?" he asked impatiently, wanting more than ever to get out of the house.

"Yes" said Damon, inclining his head and watched Jeremy almost run to the door. "Oh and Jer," he called after the boy who stopped dead at the threshold. "Keep your hands on the wheel or I'll chop them off"

* * *

Jeremy parked his car proudly at the 'Mystic Grill' parking lot and with the sense of being a real adult he walked to the entrance where he stopped once he reached it. Kylie was working the evening shift and he could see her behind the bar, sweeping the droppings of a drink. Her hair was tight up and was wearing the usual blue uniform that he used to wear when he was working there, though neither he or Matt or anybody he ever met managed to look so good in it.

He drew himself up to his full height and staring subconsciously at the ring on his finger, as though to make sure it was still there, he opened the door and walked inside. Soon as he entered he saw the person he expected to meet there sitting in a table by the corner, stirring his drink with a colorful little umbrella.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at the sight of Kol and marched over to his table, without even the slightest glance over at Kylie, unwilling to give out any signs of their friendship, in case Kol tried to blackmail him.

"Can't say I wasn't surprised when you called me" said Kol, watching Jeremy pull the only empty chair and throwing himself into it.

Kylie looked over at the two of them from behind the bar in an awe, she still find it very impressing he was on speaking terms with an Original, whom she found to be very intimidating.

"That makes two of us" Jeremy grimaced, almost annoyed with himself for feeling not half as bad and awkward in Kol's company as he should be. Kol was a vampire and not even from the Saint-Stefan kind of vampire, but he also spend months around him believing he was just some seventeen year old guy who bothered to hang out with him and that made it a tad harder to hate him. Though he knew all too well that Kol was the least trustworthy person in the world and would sell him out in the blink of an eye, and that's why he hurried to get to the point.

"I need you to tell me about the resurrection stone"


	29. The Deal

"What's in it for me?" asked Kol tilting his head to the side, still stirring his drink with the little umbrella.

"You get to piss off Klaus" Jeremy hesitated; he didn't start to like the turn this conversation began to take. "It seemed to be enough of a reason last time we spoke"

"Things have changed since last time" said Kol irritably, taking a sip from his drink before setting it back down, under Kylie's unblinking stare, who kept goggling at the boy and the Original from a safe distance. "Now you need me" he added with a light of triumph in his eyes.

"I don't need you" Jeremy spat abruptly in result people at the nearby tables gazing gossipingly at the pair of them every so often. "But I would appreciate your help" he lowered his voice, "so what do you want?"

At the question, Kol clapped his hands and fell back on his chair with a falsely offended expression, but clearly very pleased with himself, "what do I want?" he muttered, scratching his lower lip, "I could never say no to a pony" he said thoughtfully, as though giving it some serious consideration.

"Right" Jeremy stood up irritated. Kylie, who was carrying a tray full of dirty glasses at the time, jumped backwards with a gasp from the surprise and let the tray slip through her fingers. "When you feel ready to have a serious conversation, you know where to find me" he spoke over the sound of the dozen glasses meeting the floor, pushed his chair away and walked to the door, avoiding to look at Kylie.

He was halfway to the exit when he heard the vampire call after him. Jeremy turned slowly around, trying his best to hide a victorious smirk. "What?" he said, walking back to the table.

"Wait" Kol repeated, also leaping up to his feet. "Meet me tomorrow at my house, I'll tell you all you need to know" he approached Jeremy, "and, bring the blondie with you"

"Uh…?" Jeremy stuttered, quite sure he had misheard him.

"The girl" Kol indicated Kylie that was now getting yelled at by her boss while picking up the glass pieces from the floor. "It will save you some time from repeating the whole thing back to her" Kol clapped him on the shoulder and left the Grill.

* * *

First day of going back to school was just as pleasant as swallowing a packet of razors. Mr. Bell appeared in class looking like a man that had been held against his will in a castle guarded by dragons and tortured for a whole two weeks. The moment he stepped into his classroom, he walked to his desk and settled behind it without saying a single word. His scarlet eyes darted upon Jeremy with so much hate that the boy could feel his skin burn.

"What is wrong with him?" Kylie muttered out of the corner of her mouth, after making sure that nobody except from Jeremy could hear her.

"I don't think he has the stone…" Jeremy guessed, his eyes moving slowly, examining the features of his teacher.

"Did Damon do this to him?" Kylie looked pointedly at the scars and bruises covering the whole left side of Mr. Bell's face. "You said he wanted to kill him"

"No…" Jeremy shook his head thoughtfully, "That's not Damon's style, if he wanted to kill him, he would be dead now"

"So, who did this to him?" Kylie kept nagging him after the end of the class, when they were walking together toward their next lesson.

"I don't know" Jeremy gave out the same answer for a third time. "Maybe the one he is trying to get the stone for" he said indifferently. From the moment Mr. Bell didn't have the stone, he didn't find that man a whole that interesting and especially after the look he gave him that day, last thing he wanted was to mess with him just for the sake of getting involved.

"We should ask that friend of yours, Kol" Kylie suggested, catching up with him, after Jeremy got into his math class.

"No" Jeremy turned quickly around to look at her, "I mean it, no!"

"Why not?" said Kylie, sounding rather annoyed.

"Because…" Jeremy hesitated, "Kol will not share his information with us just out of good will, he'll want something in return and I'm not putting me or you in depth to Kol for Mr. Bell"

"But—" Kylie started and Jeremy quickly cut her off.

"We are looking for the stone, he doesn't have the stone, he is not our problem" said Jeremy seriously, "and you are in my math class"

Kylie looked around confused at Mss. Johnson, the math teacher, who just entered the class. "I'll see you later" she whispered to Jeremy before springing out of the classroom with her head down.

* * *

Both kids waited impatiently for the school bell to ring announcing the end of classes. Once they heard it, they ran fast as possible to Jeremy's car and out of breath got inside. They had the whole day to prepare themselves psychologically for their visit over at the Mikaelson household. Jeremy, who had been there once before and didn't carry the best memories from that place couldn't help but worry for Kylie's safety and suggested more than once to go alone, a suggestion that had been rejected without a second's thought from the girl. Kylie, truth be told, looked excited, almost too excited. Apparently living with a vampire family, she grew up listening to all those legends and bedtime stories which some of them included the Original family, so for Kylie getting to know Kol, was something like if Jeremy met Pikachu.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Jeremy cautiously, while still driving. "Look, I know you think vampires are good, but not all of them are like George"

Kylie casted him a disdainful look, "I'm not naïve Jeremy, my dad has killed too you know"

"Take my ring" Jeremy took one hand away from the stirring wheel to get his ring off.

"I'm not taking your ring!" Kylie protested, slapping his hand away.

"Please" Jeremy sounded desperate. He didn't trust Kol and he knew that the only reason he wanted Kylie there was to blackmail him with her life, in case he refused to do what he would ask from him.

Kylie was about to open her mouth when the sound of Jeremy's ringtone came unexpectedly from the backseat, making both kids jump up.

"I'll get it" Kylie climbed to the backseat and unzipped the side pocket of Jeremy's bag.

"Who is it?" Jeremy kept his eyes at the road, involuntarily following Stefan's driving terms.

"Don't know" said Kylie, sounding puzzled, "it says, _Darth Vader_"

"Crap!" Jeremy drove to the side of the road and stopped the car. "That's Damon"

"Should I answer?" Kylie kept looking at the screen.

"No, he'll know I'm lying. He is a living…well, not so living, lie detector" Jeremy shook his head, "why would he call? I told him I'll be at your house"

"Maybe something bad happened" Kylie put the phone back in the pocket once it stopped ringing.

"No…he wouldn't call me. I'd be the last to know" said Jeremy matter-of-factly and turned the engine back on.

Damon's phone call had as a result for Jeremy to completely forget Kol, Kylie and the ring and through the whole ride over to the Mikaelsons, he couldn't stop thinking the reason of why did Damon call him. Kylie of course was very pleased to get Jeremy's worries off her back and carefully kept herself from reminding him about giving her the ring. She knew Kol wouldn't hurt her, at least not enough to kill her. Jeremy on the other hand…they seemed to have history together and since both Jeremy and Kol were from the people that couldn't keep their mouths shut, she figured that Jeremy would need the ring a lot more than her.

* * *

Jeremy and Kylie walked to the entrance of the Mikaelson mansion. Two broad men were standing on each side of the door, like guards. Jeremy guessed for them to be two of Klaus' hybrids and was quite relieved to know that Tyler didn't have the same fate with those guys.

"Is Kol here?" asked Jeremy, speaking to the one of the left side. A guy with bronze curly hair and a beard.

The man unfolded his arms and opened the door, indicating for the two kids to step inside. Jeremy went through first, his body standing defiantly before Kylie. They walked together on a long corridor, looking distractedly all around them at the statues and the paintings on the walls, which some of them carried Klaus' signature. They ended up standing in the middle of an open room with a fireplace, couches and a large piano.

Kol was nowhere to be seen, keeping the two kids on edge, waiting for his arrival.

"You think he forgot?" asked Kylie, in a whispery voice.

Jeremy snorted. "We are not that lucky" he watched as Kol entered the lounge with a malicious smile stretching upon his face.

"Welcome" he gave a courteous little bow, "Please, make yourselves at home"

Jeremy rolled his eyes but didn't say anything and simply took a sit in a dark green couch next to the fireplace. Kylie sat near him and together they watched Kol pace around them.

"So?" Jeremy prompted him, "we're here"

"I'm aware" said Kol, wearing a delighted smile. "All ready for a show and tell, and I will tell you everything you need to know" he assured them, "but first I would like your part of the deal"

Jeremy, who had expected this and would be very suspicious if Kol didn't ask for anything in return, glanced at Kylie and nodded in agreement, "what do you want?"

"I want in" said Kol simply.

Jeremy and Kylie both looked at each other, without a sign of understanding.

"You want in?" asked Jeremy, sounding perplexed, "in what?"

"Well, it's clear what you two are doing, isn't it?" said Kol with an unpleasant little laugh, "You are looking for the stone and I want in"

There was a long, tense silence that only Kol seemed to enjoy. He went through the arch and walked to the library, leaving Jeremy and Kylie alone in the living room for a few seconds. He returned holding a few books, all of whom looked old and important.

"Why?" Jeremy stood up, without looking at the books, "why do want to help _us_—" he indicated himself and Kylie, "—find the stone, Klaus is out for it too, aren't you in his team?"

Kol set the books down on the table, while considering this question. "I swear you're getting dumber by the day" he shook his head, in a disappointed manner, "I don't care about that stone. But my dear older brother does and I don't want for him to have it"

"Yeah, yeah your family drama, I get that" Jeremy paced toward the table with the books, "what makes you believe we are going to work with you?"

"Well, first off you can't find it without me and second," Kol looked over at Kylie, who was still sitting quietly at the couch, "You don't care about the stone either. You only do it so her vampire daddy doesn't get slaughtered and your vampire daddy finally sees what a big boy you are"

"How do you know about my dad?" Kylie jumped up to her feet, looking from Kol to Jeremy seeking for his help.

"Darling, I've been around over a thousand years, I know everything"

Kylie threw herself back on the couch, her hands over her face.

"Does Klaus know?" asked Jeremy calmly.

"Not yet, and if you agree to work together, I can guarantee you he won't find out" said Kol, glaring at them with a vicious satisfaction upon his face. "Do we have an agreement?"

Jeremy turned to Kylie and she looked away with a shrug.

"Deal" said the boy stiffly, sure that this was a decision he and Kylie would very soon regret, but unfortunately there was a serious lack of options and in order to protect George from both Damon and Klaus they had to work with Kol and manage to get the stone faster.

"So" Kol clapped his hands excitedly, "since we are on the same team now, let's get to it" he opened the first book on top of the pile. "That's the one" he pressed his finger somewhere on page 869.

Both Jeremy and Kylie leaned forward and took a closer look at the little sketch of the stone. It was a simple, red rock about the size of Jeremy's palm.

"That's it?" Jeremy asked unimpressed.

Kol ignored his tone which he found to be very insulting. "My mother created the stone with the help of a sorcerer, over a thousand years ago, in order to protect our family"

"How does it work?" asked Kylie, who no longer seemed intimidated by Kol's presence.

"Full moon, the stone and some witchy mumbo-jumbo" said Kol unexcitedly.

"That sounds awfully simple…" said Jeremy disbelievingly, knowing all too well that where Klaus and his family were involved there was always something more than a harmless little ritual in the full moon.

"Well—" started Kol, enjoyment stretching on his face, "the rest is redundant. A little blood and a body"

"What do you mean by _a body_?" asked Jeremy cautiously, unsure whether or not he wanted to know the answer.

"The stone brings back the soul of a person, not the wrap around it" Kol explained knowledgably.

"So you say that whoever has the stone will try on next full moon to resurrect a person from the other side and conveniently have them put in a body of any resident of Mystic Falls?" asked Jeremy incredulously.

"That's exactly what I'm saying" said Kol, his voice vibrating with joy and excitement. "But don't sweat it mate, full moon is not until next week"


	30. Inspector Gadget

After dropping off Kylie at her house to make sure she was safe, Jeremy took a deep breath and unwillingly got his way back to the Salvatore mansion, his head still buzzing with the conversation he previously had with Kol.

He couldn't believe there was a psycho out there, waiting patiently until the full moon to resurrect some person from the other side and have them possess a body of any resident of his town. And the fact that hurt the most was that he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. There was no way possible to get the stone back in one week, especially since there were no any leads. All he could do was sitting around with his arms folded and wait for disaster to come.

Lost in worry about the stone and the lunatic who stole it, Jeremy had completely forgot about Damon calling him and remembered only when he walked headlong into the man on his way to his room.

"About time" said Damon, surveying him sternly.

"Sorry for not answering, I was busy" said Jeremy boringly and tried to move pass Damon, but the man held him back.

Damon narrowed his eyes and stared at the boy for a few seconds before looking away. "What are you up to?" he asked, though this was far from a question. His tone was commanding and somehow accusative.

"Nothing" Jeremy blinked, "what do you mean?"

Damon rolled his eyes, mocking Jeremy's attempt to keep lying to him.

"Let me make this easier for you and save us both time. What were you doing with Kol?"

Jeremy fell back a step as the impact of these words suddenly hit him.

"How could you possibly know I was with Kol?" he said defensively, sure that Damon was simply fishing him for information.

"Stefan put a GPS bug in your car" said Damon with a plain satisfied smile, while crossing his arms over his chest.

Jeremy opened his mouth and closed it right away, having absolutely nothing to say. There was no way he could get out of this, he was busted. "There really is no trust in this house" he chose to say instead, sounding rather hurt. "_He bugged my car?_"

"The perks of raising a teenager in the 21st century" said Damon self satisfyingly, "back in the day, my father had to recruit Lady Margaret whenever he wanted to know what crime I was up to"

"Who's Lady Margaret?" asked Jeremy in attempt to postpone his lecture.

"Stefan's governess" Damon responded, his eyes gazing distractedly into space, as the image of Stefan's caregiver popped in front of him, "that sneaky, old bitch"

Seeing Damon distracted, for a brief second Jeremy thought he might be off the hook. He took a very discreet step back and glanced around, checking for accessible exits, when Damon's glare returned back to him.

"What is your business with Kol?" he demanded.

Jeremy sighed disappointedly and looked up at the man, unable to bring himself to tell him the truth.

"I don't want you getting involved. How many times, do I have to say it before it gets through your thick head?" Damon barked at him, before Jeremy get the chance to speak.

"I'm not getting involved!" said Jeremy defiantly.

"So why are you with Kol? Did you miss your buddy?" Damon looked down at the boy, waiting for him to say something so he can keep scolding him.

"Look—" Jeremy started, choosing his words very carefully, "Kol was a friend of mine in Denver and now he has asked me for a second chance"

Damon stared at him with a kind of painful intensity for a few moments, "are you really that stupid?" he asked incredulously, "he is using you, you moron"

"Oh, yeah? What for?" asked Jeremy rather conversationally, him too folding his arms to match Damon. "It's not like I know something he doesn't already know"

"He tried to kill you" said Damon snappishly, his voice distinctly colder.

It was about this point when Jeremy guessed he should just nod, keep his mouth shut and go up to his room to continue living his dull, normal life, but that was not what Jeremy was known for. Even when he was younger he was famous for taking an originally bad situation and somehow manage to bring it into a whole new level of badness.

So instead of nodding and agreeing with Damon to not see Kol ever again, he chose to go the other way around.

"You tried to kill me too" he said simply, "and if I remember correctly, you kind of succeeded, unlike Kol" Jeremy could almost taste the bitterness of those words as he blurted them out. The fact was true, once upon a time Damon did try to kill him, but he didn't mean for it to sound so accusative. He forgave Damon pretty much the next day after the incident took place, and yes he was definitely still a little angry and pissed but now he was convinced he had gone too far, comparing him with Kol.

Damon took a step forward, wincing. He was about to say something, when the front door opened and a very cheerful Stefan, walked inside.

Jeremy turned to look at Stefan, trying his best to ignore the feeling of Damon's eyes darted on his back.

"Hello!" Stefan threw his arms in the air, beaming fondly at his brother and the boy.

"Are you all right?" asked Damon, withdrawing his gaze from Jeremy at last.

"Never been better" said Stefan in a singsong voice, attempting to walk over to the pair of them, but his legs seemed unwilling to follow, as they barely managed to hold him from falling down.

"Is he drunk?" Jeremy turned back to Damon, as a whiff of stale bourbon came of Stefan's direction.

"No…" Damon muttered, scanning critically his little brother, "he is day-drunk" he corrected him.

"I'm a little drunk" Stefan confessed, as he flung his arms around Jeremy's shoulders, lightly shaking him back and forth. "I'm sensing hostility" he said in an awed voice.

"I'm friends with Kol again" said Jeremy, realizing there was no point to lie anymore and anyway Stefan would probably take the news better drunk, than sober.

"Okay" Stefan nodded, giving them no sign that he had actually heard him.

"Why are you drunk?" asked Damon, a part of him willing to punch his brother for turning himself useless at this very crucial time and the other part of him amused, by Stefan's all so sudden changed. He hasn't really seen Stefan day-drunk since his Ripper days but that couldn't be the case now. Stefan didn't have the same guilty smirk as when he was high on blood, he was simply…drunk.

"Nothing" said Stefan distractedly, pulling both of Jeremy's ears as though wanting to find how far they can stretch out.

"Ouch, could you—" Jeremy nodded to Damon to help get Stefan off his ears. Damon didn't move and simply gave him a patronizing look, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Stefan stood there for a while, until playing with Jeremy's ears got old and gave him a shove on the back, pushing him toward Damon. He stretched his arms with an audible yawn and staggered in what he thought was the direction of the stairs, in result to crash on the wall. It took him about a couple seconds to realize he was going the wrong way and holding on from the wall to find some balance and get oriented; he walked this time to the stairs.

Damon and Jeremy both followed him to the threshold and peeked through the door to make sure he would get to his room.

Stefan stopped halfway and very slowly turned around. "You" he pointed a drunk finger at Jeremy, "if I find you hang out with Kol, I'll—" he paused, looking blankly at the ceiling as though trying to remember something.

"You'll beat me up senseless" Jeremy helped him sympathetically.

"Right!" Stefan clapped his hands and kept crawling up the stairs, while chanting the 'happy birthday' song in a very grief, mourning tone.

"Did we forget his birthday or something?" asked Jeremy, the moment he heard Stefan's bedroom door shut.

"His birthday was on November" said Damon whose attention had returned back to the boy.

"So we did forget about his birthday" Jeremy noticed and gave an indifferent shrug before following Stefan upstairs. He was sure that Damon was going to stop him and until the very last moment he was thinking of snarky things to say back to him once he did. But Damon surprised him as always and gave him a free pass out of this, letting him wonder how many more times he could play the 'you snapped my neck' card to get out of trouble until it stopped working.

* * *

Ever since they returned back to Mystic Falls from the lake house, Matt had been visiting the Salvatore mansion in the mornings, in order to attend Jeremy's daily training sessions, after he realized he could definitely use a little bit of training himself. Jeremy liked having Matt around, not only because he could have company whilst running all those pointless miles, but mostly because with Matt around, Damon had one extra person to make fun of and sometimes would completely forget about scolding him. Though having Matt get shouted at was not one of the best feelings in the world, it was refreshing to see for a chance somebody else get all the yelling.

Since Matt was bigger and stronger than Jeremy, he turned out to be a lot better at wrestling and boxing, while Jeremy remained about twice as good at shooting and tracking, and they were both equally bad at whittling, for which Damon decided to blame their whole generation, calling them: "Morons who only know how to push buttons".

"Jeremy, why don't you show Prom kind over here, how real boys do it" said Damon without getting up from his favorite chair, indicating Matt and the crossbow.

Jeremy, who was too busy at that time nursing his bruised down lip, turned around in alarm; quite sure he must have misheard him. Up till now, Damon had never called him a real boy. He was always either dumbass, or idiot, or moron. In fact the biggest compliment he had ever received from Damon was that one time he said to him: "You don't suck as much as you used to"

Still surprised but also a little bit flattered, Jeremy walked hurriedly over to Matt and took the crossbow off his hands. He pulled an arrow out of Matt's quiver and carefully fitted into the crossbow. With his eyes nailed directly on the target placed so far that he could barely see it, he waited silently for a few seconds before he pull the trigger.

Matt placed his hand over his forehead, taking the little existing sun off his eyes and tried to look where the arrow had landed. Sure enough it was in the center of the target, while he could still see around it all of his own previous attempts.

"Show off" Matt muttered with a little smile.

Jeremy shrugged and let down the crossbow before they both turned to Damon who indicated for them to start running, as the last part of their training for the day.

Damon took an extra cushion from the patio, to add in his chair, when Stefan walked outside to the porch and stood quietly behind his brother.

"Don't stop" Damon said harshly to the boys, as they stopped running, their eyes gazing upon Stefan.

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Stefan with a frown, forming a straight wrinkle in between his eyebrows.

"That depends" said Damon with a little smirk, "What you think this is"

Stefan walked to the patio, took a chair identical to Damon's and set it down next to his brother.

"Come on Stefan, get the lecture out of your system, we both know you want to" said Damon, looking at his brother as he cupped his face inside his hands, probably still in pain from all the drinking he had done yesterday.

"Why would I lecture you?" he said looking up at the boys who kept running, their eyes going on the two brothers from time to time. "You take time to make sure he knows how to protect himself, this goes directly to the list with the very few selfless things you've ever done"

Damon looked over his shoulder and straight at his brother, who seemed honest and not disturbed to the least.

"But let's not tell Elena" Stefan added, "I'm not sure how much she will appreciate _this_"

Damon agreed with a nod and still surprised at his brother's unusually calm reaction, he changed the subject.

"So, care to fill me in why were you acting like a sorority girl yesterday?"

Stefan's head jerked upwards as he looked at the dark, morning sky. "It was Lexi's birthday" he said shorty, still facing the clouds. "We would always get drunk on our birthdays"

Damon's ironic smile faltered. He wanted to say something, but he was probably the last person in the world qualified to offer condolences to his brother for the death of his best friend, since he was the one responsible.

They sat in silence for a little while, watching Jeremy and Matt struggle to catch a breath while at the same time try to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What are you going to do about the kid?" asked Stefan finally, getting himself more comfortable on his chair, "will you let him around Kol?"

Damon turned his head to give him a patronizing glare. "Like hell I will" he said in a 'have we just met' sort of voice, "he wants to be Inspector Gadget, I'll give him Inspector Gadget"

"Or maybe I could go beat him up senseless, that could work" Stefan suggested thoughtfully.

"Right, and how about after that, you go and tell Elena you compelled all his teachers to lie about his grades" said Damon triumphantly, giving his brother a clap on the shoulder.

"How did you know?" asked Stefan, looking supremely unconcerned.

"Well I didn't do it and he sure as hell didn't get all those good grades without somebody compelling them. Did you finally get tired of screaming at him?"

"So tired…" said Stefan earnestly, looking over at Jeremy, "and it's not like he listens"

"The beauty of teenagers" Damon stretched back on his chair.

"We were teenagers, we weren't like that" Stefan protested, "We listened and respected father"

"No, _you_ listened and respected father" Damon corrected him, "I had sex with half the ladies of Mystic Falls"

"And yet you wonder why was I the favorite" said Stefan with a snort.

Damon smiled despite himself, "I never wondered".

Meanwhile, Jeremy and Matt were still running half-heartedly, wishing for a first time to be vampires so they could listen what the two brothers were saying. Jeremy knew how pissed would Stefan be if he found out about his training sessions with Damon, though now he looked thoroughly pleased. In fact this probably had to be the first time he ever saw Stefan and Damon sit next to each other for longer than five minutes without one of them trying to drive a stake through the other's heart.

Damon indicated the boys to stop running and with great relief they fell down on the wet from the snow grass, relaxing their pained muscles.

* * *

After a long shower to get all the dirt off his body, Jeremy went down in the kitchen and looked up at the two brothers who were talking to each other conspiratorially.

Stefan clapped Jeremy on the shoulder and quickly followed Matt out of the kitchen.

"Am I in trouble?" Jeremy asked boringly, tipping bacon down his plate.

Damon didn't answer; instead he placed his hand inside the back pocket of his jeans and took out a piece of paper.

"Give that to your principal today" he said, passing the note to the boy.

Jeremy set his fork down and stared at the paper without daring to touch it. "What is this?"

"It's a permission note, you're taking a couple days off school" said Damon, pouring himself some more coffee.

Jeremy grimaced, still looking puzzled at the man, "why?"

"Because—" Damon started, taking a sip from his mug, "I'm leaving to Atlanta tonight to find the stone and you are coming with me"


	31. On our way

With a sense of mounting excitement, Jeremy ran down the school corridor, trying to get fast as possible to his principal's office. He still couldn't believe that Damon agreed to take him with him to Atlanta, maybe after all nobody would have to be resurrected.

Coming out of Mr. Hopkins' office, Jeremy set off towards the cafeteria to find Kylie. He still hadn't seen her all day and couldn't wait to fill her in and share his excitement with her.

He didn't have to walk all the way downstairs, when he saw Kylie standing casually outside her chemistry class. For some reason that Jeremy could never explain even to himself, he felt his stomach drop, as he saw a boy around his own age speaking to her with his hand located dangerously close to hers.

"Hi" Jeremy walked fast to the pair, getting exactly in the middle of them, facing Kylie and his back turned on the boy, determinate to ignore his existence.

"Hey…" said Kylie, looking puzzled at Jeremy's odd behavior. "Jeremy, this is Dylan" she pointed at the boy that Jeremy still refused to look at, "he is my lab partner"

"How great" said Jeremy sarcastically, "can you excuse us for a second?" he turned to look at Dylan for a first time and with great pleasure noticed that he was a tiny bit taller.

"Sure" Dylan glared at Jeremy with the same amount of dislike as he watched him and Kylie depart.

"What the hell was that?" Kylie scolded him once they were out of Dylan's earshot.

"What?" Jeremy shrugged innocently, "I really have to tell you something"

"Oh yeah?" said Kylie, her hands placed on her hips in a dangerous fashion, while stomping her foot. "I'm listening"

Jeremy glanced around the corridor to make sure that the rest of the students were too busy minding their own business and leaned closer to the girl so only she could hear him. "I'm leaving for Atlanta tonight with Damon, we'll get the stone"

With great disappointment Jeremy noticed that Kylie didn't share his excitement, on the contrary, she looked terrified.

"But…" she muttered, her face growing steadily red, "if Damon gets the stone, he'll give it to Klaus" she gazed up at Jeremy who nodded in agreement, "Kol will be so pissed"

"So?" Jeremy shifted his shoulder, still unable to see what the problem was.

"So" Kylie pressed on, irritated by Jeremy's lack of understanding, "He'll tell Damon and Klaus that my dad is a you-know-what and they will kill him"

"Oh…now I get it, no big deal" he said rather relieved and hurried to add for Kylie looked about to punch him in the face, "As long as Damon gets the stone and your dad stays out of his way, he couldn't care less about the extra vampire of this town"

"Yes," Kylie agreed, still fuming, "I sort of figured that, but what if Kol wants to take revenge for double-crossing him?"

"If Kol does as much as think about touching you or your family, all I have to do is tip off Klaus that his loving little brother tried to sabotage him repeatedly and I can guarantee he will spend the next hundred years laying in a box"

"You're evil" said Kylie with a bright smile, looking proudly at him.

After the two of them hugged goodbye and after Jeremy sincerely promised to keep her posted, the boy ran to his car fast as he could and drove back home.

* * *

"I call shotgun!" yelped Jeremy, placing his bag at the front seat, as though to mark his own territory.

"There are only two of us, Jer" Damon pointed out, while neatly stacking the boxes with Alaric's guns and all his little vampire killing inventions inside the trunk.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" said Jeremy quietly, gesturing at a furious looking Stefan who had just emerged from inside the house and was threateningly walking toward them, his hands balled into fists.

"No! Oh no! No! No! No!" Stefan shouted, the familiar little line in between his eyebrows making its appearance on his face. "You said you were going to train him and have him ready if anything happens, not take him on a suicide mission!" Stefan kept yelling self-righteously as Damon kept ignoring him.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe" said Damon sarcastically, "It's the same thing, Stefan"

"Same thing?" Stefan repeated in a testy voice, clearly starting a two hour long argument, "Have you even told Elena? You are kidnapping her brother"

"Well," Damon started with the unmistakable air of a person that is about to say something that nobody is going to like, "how about _you say_, you couldn't take his batty behavior anymore and we compelled him down to Military school. Which by the way isn't that far-fetched" he added threateningly at Jeremy.

"What did I do?" Jeremy half raised his arms, indignantly.

"That's it…" Stefan pressed his hand against his forehead in an exasperated manner, "I'm coming with you"

"No you're not!" Jeremy jumped in front of Damon, facing Stefan, "I mean; you sure have better things to do"

"No I don't" said Stefan simply, walking to the trunk to make sure they packed everything they would need.

"It's sad, but I believe him" Damon patted Jeremy on the back.

* * *

Damon hammered the trunk shut, after Stefan put in his own suitcase, having already stated that he was going with them, despite all of Jeremy's not very discreet attempts to change his mind.

"I called shotgun!" said Jeremy running to the car, mostly to let Stefan know that he would be the one stuck sitting on the backseat.

Stefan rolled his eyes at Jeremy's immaturity but unwilling to get in an argument right of the bat, he sat quietly in the back as everybody took their seats.

Normally a road trip was something that could be described as fun, but Jeremy knew better and didn't have high expectations from that trip, so when the first problem came their way precisely after five minutes of being on the road, nobody seemed surprised.

Jeremy unzipped his schoolbag and took out a map. Stefan at once, placed his head in the gap between the two front seats and said, "Jer, give me the map"

"No" Jeremy shook his head dismissively and buried his face inside the map, trying to read it, though he had no idea how. "The guy sitting next to the driver gets to hold the map, it's the rule"

"I'm not going to say it again" said Stefan threateningly.

"_I'm not going to say it again_" Jeremy repeated mockingly and hurried to cover his head with his hands, as Stefan threw lightly a water bottle at him.

"Do you see what he's doing?" they said in one voice, both turning to look at Damon, who nodded vaguely.

"I called shotgun, I get to hold the map" Jeremy stated angrily after he figured that Damon wouldn't be much of a help for neither of them.

"Well, I was born first" said Stefan as though this was an endgame argument, "sixteen years ago you barely existed, you know where I was sixteen years ago?"

"In a gay parade, singing Kumbaya? Or was a B.A meeting? Bloodholic Anonymous" Jeremy guessed, touching the handle of his gun, in case Stefan was planning to attack.

"That's it!" Stefan got his hands through the gap to grab Jeremy, but the boy had already taken his gun out and pointed it straight at him, stopping Stefan's hands in mid-action.

"Okay," Stefan sighed, gesturing to Jeremy to lower his gun, "who should have the map?" he turned at his brother, knowing that Damon would take his side just to spite the boy.

Damon withdrew his gaze from the road, aware that he couldn't reasonably keep ignoring them and looked at the pair of them with an almost pitiful expression upon his face. "Actually," he started with a quiet smile; "I have a GPS" he pointed at the little screen next to the stirring wheel. "But thanks"

Stefan rolled his eyes and fell back on his seat, while Jeremy muttered, cringing, "you can have it" he threw the map over his shoulder at Stefan, who used it to hit the boy twice in the head, before shoving it out of the open window.

As the hours went by, Damon and Stefan changed many subjects, none of which Jeremy was remotely interested in discussing and in order to avoid saying something he would later regret, he pulled out his cellphone and texted Kylie about his whereabouts and got a raging response about how 'The mortal instruments, city of the bones' had just come out and if he refused again to take her to the movies she would kill him with her own bare hands.

"Okay, I just told Elena I'm taking Jeremy to an art exhibition in Atlanta" said Stefan with an expression of great distaste on his face.

"Smart move" Damon shook his head, "I bet she's thrilled that you're spending quality time with her baby bro"

Stefan sighed looking extremely put out, clearly not enjoying his lie.

"What are you laughing about?" Damon rounded on Jeremy, after the boy let out a giggle while reading Kylie's latest text.

"Eh?" Jeremy looked up from his cellphone, "nothing"

"How's your little girlfriend?" asked Damon with a little lopsided smile.

"Not my girlfriend" said Jeremy airily and put his phone back inside his pocket.

"Good, last thing you need is a distraction" Stefan said in a very judgmental voice.

"Shut up, Stefan" Damon glared at his brother before he turned back on Jeremy who wished for everybody to just stop talking and leave him alone. "This can't still be about the witch, you haven't mentioned her in weeks" he guessed.

"No…" Jeremy admitted. "I just don't want a girlfriend, alright? Girlfriends suck, they turn you into a woose" for some reason Jeremy looked back at Stefan as he was saying these words.

"I'm not a woose" said Stefan indignantly.

"You watched the notebook ten time this last month, you do all the things you don't like just because she does" Jeremy counted on his fingers, "You can't even tell her the truth about where we are going"

"I'm just trying to make her happy" said Stefan impatiently.

"Point is," Jeremy ignored his answer, "girlfriends suck"

"Jeremy, just because two out of your girlfriends died, it doesn't mean that if you get a new one she will die too" said Damon seriously, avoiding to look anywhere but the road.

Though Jeremy liked the sound of those words, he didn't feel as it was true. Everybody always died on him, no matter how hard he tried to protect them and now there was Kylie. He liked her so much he didn't want to lose her. Being her friend was enough for him, all he ever wanted for her was to be happy and safe and he couldn't provide that by being her boyfriend.

* * *

Jeremy woke up early the next morning on the backseat, cold and confused as to where he was. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and looked up. Stefan, who must have been the one to move him in the middle of the night, was sitting up front next to Damon, thoughtfully going over what Jeremy recognized to be the copies of Mr. Bell's journal.

"Are we there yet?" he asked pulling himself up.

"Almost" said Damon uncertainly.

"How do you know it's in Atlanta, the stone?" Jeremy asked looking again at the journal he stole from Mr. Bell's house.

"The journal, thanks to you" Damon replied with a little groan that Jeremy guessed to be another sign of how displeased he was for taking the boy so long to fess up.

"That's impossible" said Jeremy dismissively, "I went through that thing over a thousand times, it doesn't even mention the stone"

Stefan turned back and handed him over the copies.

"Go to page 37" said Damon, him too looking back.

Jeremy flipped through the pages, knowing better than anyone everything there was on page 37, since that page especially he translated about ten times, just to make sure he got everything right.

"Life is no different than death" he read out loud the words next to the familiar drawing of the tree and the name of the Mikaelson family.

"Look at the tree, it's full of lines" Damon instructed him.

"It's called creative drawing" Jeremy commented.

"Amateur" Damon shook his head in a falsely disappointed way. "Those, my little mini me are Runes, the tree is filled with them"

"They are a map" Stefan explained.

"I still don't understand what the white oak has anything to do with the stone" Jeremy frowned at the tiny symbols carved on every part of the tree.

"This whole tree doesn't symbolize the oak tree that can kill an Original. This tree is the stone" Stefan corrected him as Damon opened his mouth, probably to say the same thing.

"You see the roots, Jer." Damon turned his head back to look at the boy, "they symbolize birth and life, the stem symbolizes growth and strength, while the leaves are the end…death"

"Life is no different than death" Jeremy read again, "it's a circle" he said in an awed voice, for a first time able to see every detail of that drawing. All those months he was focusing so hard to translate all of the things he saw, that he completely forgot to really look.

"Exactly" Damon smirked at the road.

"But how do we know it's in Atlanta?" he asked while trying to figure out the order of which the runes were sketched.

"I told you, it's a map" said Damon vaguely.

"But how did you translate it?" Jeremy took his eyes away from the copies to look at the back of Damon's head.

"How _did _you translate it?" Stefan repeated the same question, looking just as puzzled as Jeremy was.

Damon pursed his lips in a guilty manner, "Klaus" he said the one name Stefan was dreading to hear.

"No! Damon—" Stefan placed his head in between his hands and nervously pushed his hair back, "—why, why would you go to Klaus?"

"Same reason I went to Kol" Jeremy guessed simply, "they know stuff"

"You stay quiet" Stefan pointed a finger in Jeremy's direction, before rounding back on his brother, "What did Klaus say?"

Damon didn't answer. He pulled over to the side of an empty road and stopped the car. "Jer, give me that" he lifted the copies out of Jeremy's hands.

"That" Damon pressed his finger against a symbol Jeremy couldn't see because of Stefan having his head in front of him, "means birth, the stone only works in the grounds it was originally created"

"Klaus hid the stone in Atlanta in 1869, a couple years after the end of the Civil war" said Stefan. "So whoever took it has to be in a certain location to resurrect somebody?"

"How do we know where to look?" asked Jeremy trying to peek over Stefan's head, "we can't just walk around Atlanta hoping to stumble on it"

"According to Klaus there is a vampire cult, very fascinated by the legend of the resurrection stone. My guess is we find them, we find the stone"

"Vampire cult?" Jeremy snorted, "Seriously?"

"You met one of them" Damon rounded on him with a pleased smile, "or should I say 'killed one of them'"

Stefan, who was still in the dark about most of the things happening behind his back, sighed deeply and refused to ask any questions about the whole Jeremy-killing-a-vampire-member of-a-vampire-cult, and focused on all this new information.

"Let's go to Atlanta then" he sighed again and grabbed a stake.


	32. What Happens in Atlanta (part 1)

"Seriously, you guys are vampires, you could compel us at least a better room" said Jeremy looking disappointedly at a dirty, triple room, in a cheap motel a little outside Atlanta.

He walked slowly passed Damon and Stefan who were organizing Alaric's weapons and stood next to the window, gazing at the view. He could see nothing but an empty street and an old creepy warehouse that seemed like a perfect hide out for a 'Prison Break' runaway.

"What do we do now?" he asked impatiently, listening to the bed creak as he jumped on the one closer to the window.

Both Salvatore brothers completely ignored him and continued uninterruptedly their whispered conversation.

"Guys…" Jeremy waved with his hands, trying to get some attention, "What do we do now?"

"We wait" said Damon, shoving Jeremy's legs out of the bed and sat at the edge of it.

"Wait for what?" asked Jeremy with a frown. He wanted to get out, fight vampires, get the stone; not sit in an old motel room that smelled like urine.

"Klaus gave me the name of a guy, he recruits members for the cult" Damon explained, leaning back and staring at the grey ceiling that probably twenty-something years ago was originally painted white.

"That's perfect!" Jeremy jumped on his feet, "why can't we go now?"

"He works at a bar, it won't open until eleven"

"You're taking me to a bar?" Jeremy gaped at them, keeping every part of his body crossed for he was terrified to hear something like 'of course not, you get to stay here and guard the guns' in response. However, for the sake of everybody's neurological system, that didn't happen.

"You can come" said Damon wearily, watching Jeremy punch the air in celebration, "make sure to grab your fake ID"

Jeremy's hands froze in mid-air, as he let a very shaky laugh, "I don't have a fake ID" he said nodding pointedly over at Stefan, who stopped rummaging through the boxes and let out his typical exasperated sigh.

"Just take it with you" said Stefan, waving dangerously a stake around, "I already know all about your fake ID, Mr. Fernando Martinez, age twenty-one"

"You guys should really stop going through my stuff" he said in a glum voice, "It's called 'invasion of privacy' technically I could sue you"

Damon snorted as Stefan picked up a pillow and threw it over, aiming for Jeremy's head.

"And that, is called 'domestic violence', I could definitely sue you for that" Jeremy smiled brilliantly, ducking down to avoid a second pillow coming his way.

* * *

Having twelve hours to spare until it was time to go face the music, to Jeremy's annoyance and disappointment Damon and Stefan decided to take a nap, while he went down near the warehouse for some last minute training. He used Alaric's crossbow to shoot on some beer cans he found lying on the ground, probably the aftermath of some teenage late night party, but it soon got boring since he was getting it every time and he had no one to talk to, so after a little walk and a phone call from Kylie, he wandered back to the motel room.

Damon and Stefan were already awake, but didn't look all too keen to discuss the vampire cult or the man they had to meet in a few hours. Instead they were lying in their beds, sharing popcorn and arguing about cars.

"Don't you guys think we should come up with a plan, for tonight" said Jeremy cautiously, unable to understand how they could be so calm when in less than four hours they had to meet some creepy man that was recruiting people for a vampire cult, which probably stole a resurrection stone from the Original family.

"We have a plan" said Stefan looking at Jeremy as though he was the weird one.

"Really?" asked Jeremy slightly taken aback, "what is it?"

"We find him, we torture him, we kill him" said Damon failing to catch a piece of popcorn with his mouth.

"That's your big plan?" Jeremy frowned, "torture him?" he turned at Stefan waiting for him to interject, but he just nodded indifferently, "what if he is a human?"

"Makes the torturing part easier" said Damon simply, "humans have no pain tolerance, he'll spill right away"

"I'm not going to let you do that" Jeremy stepped forward, as though to let them know he was not joking.

"Jer, he is not a good guy" Stefan started soothingly as Damon was too busy scanning Jeremy's determinate expression.

"I don't care" Jeremy protested, "Nobody deserves that"

"Okay Fernando" Damon held up a hand to shush his brother, "let's do it your way"

* * *

"You have your gun?" Damon cornered Jeremy next to the entrance of a club called: "The Alley". It was a small place, which looked a lot like the local hang out place, for many middle aged men and women were entering, ignoring the two strange vampires and the young boy.

"Yes" Jeremy replied.

"Shoot and don't hesitate" Damon pointed a finger at him.

"I won't, if he does as much as move I'll kill him right on the spot" said Jeremy, though he didn't really mean it, something that both Damon and Stefan didn't fail to notice.

"I don't agree with this" said Stefan wearily, very much aware that nobody was paying attention to his words. Damon had already made up his mind about letting Jeremy do this, mostly because he thought the boy will fail and that would suck some of the extra confidence Jeremy appeared to have lately and since they would both be around monitoring the situation, this was a win-win deal.

"We know" said Damon and Jeremy in sync.

"Okay" Damon clapped the boy on the shoulder, "good luck"

"I don't need luck" said Jeremy, trying his best to sound confident and marched straight inside. He found himself looking at a cozy, nothing-special place packed up with people, nobody under the age of forty.

He scanned every corner of it searching for the man until finally his eyes mingled upon a guy standing behind the bar, pouring some drinks from a shaker to about half a dozen little shot glasses.

He was tall, thin with broad shoulders and if anything looked more like the prom king type than some guy who recruits people for a vampire cult that worships a stone. He stayed still for a few moments, examining the man from afar. Though he was strong, he was either really clumsy or new at that work, for he kept spilling the drinks all over the counter and dropped a couple of glasses without any miraculous catches, which could only mean one thing for Jeremy. He was human, definitely human.

He heard the little bell of the door from behind him and saw Damon step inside, closely followed by Stefan. Jeremy gave them a fleeting thumbs-up and watched them as they sat on a table right in the middle of the room.

The boy shook his head and confidently, marched purposefully over to the bar and sat in the only spare chair. He cleared his throat with an audible cough and tapped the counter twice with his fist.

"A beer" he grudged, in a voice that sounded nothing like his own.

The guy, who according to Klaus was named Eric Marsden and was undoubtedly the person he was searching, merely turned his head toward Jeremy's direction for a few seconds, before returning to his other customer, a large guy that judging by his bad physique and the beer belly was probably a regular.

"One beer" Jeremy repeated, slightly irritated.

The bartender didn't move, but for once more he looked at the boy with the same expression Mr. Bell had every time he saw Jeremy walk alive inside his classroom.

"ID" he demanded dryly.

Jeremy put his hand in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled his fake ID from inside.

The man leaned closer and stared from the name to the date of birth and later up to Jeremy. "Go home kid" he said with a snort.

"I'm not a kid, I'm twenty-one" Jeremy lied, straightening up to appear bigger.

The man snorted again and poked with his finger the large guy sitting next to Jeremy, "you hear that Phil? He is twenty-one" he said loudly, as to make sure everybody at the bar would hear him.

The guy named Phil slowly turned his none existing neck and darted Jeremy with his eyes.

"Come back when you're out of middle school, kid" said the bartender scathingly and Phil let out a hoarse, loud laugh though Jeremy was positive he had no idea why he was laughing due to all the empty glasses of alcohol he had around him. "Now go home to your mommy"

"That's a good idea, I'll do that" said Jeremy with a wide smile, that seemed to take the man by surprise, "I guess I was just hoping for a casual night out, you know…a friendly chat with a local bartender and maybe somewhere along the way get him to open up about various issues, such as girlfriends…life…a resurrection stone" Jeremy paused for a brief second, just to let his words sink in and take a moment to enjoy the look of utmost terror and confusion as it spread over Eric Marsden's face. "However, since I'm a kid and still in middle school, I'll go home to my mommy, I'm sure my hundred and seventy year old Guardian won't mind to take over"

"V…Vampire?" the man stuttered.

"He sure as hell is" Jeremy assured him, "but no worries, he is a sweetheart, deep…deep, very deep inside… and there is also his brother. He goes by the nickname 'Ripper', of course in my opinion the guy is a total vanilla but you know how things are, you kill a couple dozen people on a peaceful weakened and suddenly you are the bad guy. People are just so judgmental sometimes…"

"Who are you?" the man whispered in such low voice, Jeremy had to read his lips.

"Jeremy Gilbert, nice to meet you" the boy flung his hand over the counter but the man didn't shake it, on the contrary, he took a couple steps back.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, looking around him, probably seeking for an accessible exit which even he understood how pointless it was.

"I want to know everything about the cult" said Jeremy, sounding very pleased with himself.

"Look man, I know nothing about those freaks" he said in a very shaky voice, his face rigid with defiance, "I only send them people whenever they ask me to"

"You send them where?"

"I can't tell you that" he cried, now looking around more fervently, desperate for a way out.

"I understand" said Jeremy in a falsely sweet voice; he looked over his shoulder, pretending he was trying to find somebody in the crowd. "Would you feel more comfortable speaking to my Guardian?"

"It's a house!" the man yelped, forcing Jeremy's eyes away from the crowd, "a meeting place, it's about three hours away from here" It was obvious that he didn't like vampires very much and last thing he wanted was to have a conversation with one.

"I'm gonna need an address" Jeremy waited with beating heart as Eric grabbed a napkin from behind the counter and muttering curses from under his breath, he wrote down an address.

"Are we done here?" he asked, handing aggressively the napkin over to Jeremy.

"Of course not" Jeremy snorted, "now, what can you tell me about the members? Who is in charge?"

"I don't know" said the man in a rather frightened voice and hurried to add after seeing disbelief etching all over Jeremy's face. "I really don't know, I only met this one guy once"

"What's his name?"

"I don't know" Eric shook his head, surprised and displeased with his own lack of knowledge, "he said to call him 'Roman' but I doubt that's his real name. He only tells me when to send people to that address" he put his finger on the napkin, "it's usually once a month"

"Wait" Jeremy called a halt, "you recruit members for the cult. How can you not know them? Unless…" the boy paused, a look of disgust coming over his face, "Oh man…you don't send them new members, do you? You send them food…"

"I get them fresh blood from my bar and they get me…other stuff, that's the deal" Eric said, not a hint of remorse in his voice.

"They promised to turn you into a vampire, did they?" Jeremy guessed. He knew that look. He would recognize it from miles away, probably since he had the same one about a year ago when he wanted to turn himself into a vampire. It was desperation mixed with hope for something better, though only now he realized how stupid and pointless that piece of hope was. Because it wasn't real.

"How does that Roman guy look like?" Jeremy asked, without waiting for a response to his previous question.

"Tall, blond, creepy and he speaks in a funny accent" he frowned in effort to remember, "I only saw him once"

"Well thank you for your help, Eric" Jeremy stood up, catching the man completely by surprise.

"Are we done?" he asked nervously.

"Unless there is something you would like to add" Jeremy looked down at him as the man shook his head frantically.

"They will kill me" he sobbed, just as Jeremy was about to walk away, "for telling you all this, they will kill me"

"Not if you keep your mouth shut" said Jeremy, leaning so close to the man that their faces were only an inch apart, "which I would recommended, because if I find out you told anybody about our little chat, that cult will be the least of your problems"

Jeremy walked to the exit, trying so hard to suppress a grin that his face started to hurt. He pushed the door open and went outside. Damon and Stefan had already been waiting for him there, having a very tense conversation.

"You are such a bad influence on him" Stefan was saying, clearly unimpressed by Jeremy's way of handling things in there.

"He didn't get that from me" said Damon defensively, though very amused. "Thanks for using me as the Boogeyman to scare the bartender, Jer" he rounded on Jeremy soon as he heard the door open and Jeremy's footsteps coming their way.

"You welcome" Jeremy smirked, glowing with pride and passed the napkin with the address over to Damon.

"You're grounded!" Stefan shouted at him, his face growing rather red.

These words seemed to make no impression whatsoever on Jeremy. "Why?" he half-raised his arms, watching Stefan's face get slightly calmer.

"I don't know…" he admitted, "but what you did inside wasn't normal"

"I only threatened him" said Jeremy indignantly, "you wanted to torture him and kill him"

"Yes" Stefan agreed, "but you are the kid, we are vampires, we are the bad guys"

"Actually, I'm the bad guy" Damon interfered, "you are vanilla" he said with a snort, ruffling Jeremy's hair.

* * *

Given what was coming the following day, Jeremy didn't manage to sleep at all and kept turning around his motel bed all night. In the morning he looked like a zombie, which Damon found very ironic, since Jeremy was the only 'alive' member of their little group.

After about no less than a solid hour of arguing, Damon and Stefan came up with a plan that kept everybody satisfied, except from Jeremy who didn't have a say in it.

Stefan, as the only patient person amongst them who could have an actual conversation without being tempted to kill, was to stay back in Atlanta in search for that Roman guy, while Damon and Jeremy would pay a visit to the cult.


	33. What Happens in Atlanta (Part 2)

Jeremy was sitting on the front seat, next to Damon. He was holding his sketchbook and doodling little stars and Kylie's name in attempt to keep himself from falling asleep.

"There is something you're not telling me" Damon stated, his eyes fixed at the road.

"No..." Jeremy stretched back with a yawn, dropping down his sketchbook for which he dived under his seat to retrieve. "Oh actually now that you mention it…" Jeremy had a sudden epiphany. "Remember when you compelled that deputy to arrest me?"

Damon glared at him instead of a response.

"I'll take that as a yes" Jeremy bit his lip, "The reason I went out that day was to go back where we buried the body of that vampire"

Damon hardly appeared to be upset by those news. "Why?" he asked in the same tone one would ask about the weather.

"Well" Jeremy hesitated, "I may or may have not…tried to dig him out" he said quietly and hurried to add defensively, "I wanted to see the mark again! See if there was anything about it in the journal"

"Was there?" Damon asked indifferently.

"No, but that's not the issue, the problem was that the body was not there" said Jeremy in an unnaturally quiet voice.

Damon raised his eyebrows showing the first sign of interest.

"Somebody moved him?"

"I really hope so, because the alternative is that he crawled his way out" said Jeremy with a shudder; this precise image has been haunting him in his nightmares for days after the incident.

"No" Damon shook his head, "he was dead, only you can die and come back a thousand times"

"Am I?" asked Jeremy nervously, "I mean, it's a _resurrection _stone fan club. What if they figured how to resurrect themselves?"

"That's not how the stone works, Jer"

"How do you know?" Jeremy protested.

"Wishful thinking, you should try it" said Damon sarcastically, tapping rhythmically the stirring wheel, "Immortal, brainwashed vampires? That would be the definition of a bad day"

"Oh and since we mention stuff…" Jeremy started again cautiously, "remember when I killed the vampire and you asked if he mentioned anything else part from the stone and I said no?"

Again Damon didn't answer, he only nodded and took a deep breath, his hands tightly clenching the stirring wheel.

"I kind of lied…" said Jeremy titling his head slightly to the side. "He knew my name, he didn't expect to find me in your house though, and I think that's why he didn't kill me"

Damon remained quiet for a little while, as though his mind was processing the information and coming to a conclusion.

"You're an idiot" he said calmly. "Is there anything else you would like to confess?"

"No, I'm good" Jeremy shrugged, getting psychologically ready to receive the typical smack at the back of the head, but to his great surprise he saw Damon's hands still glued to the stirring wheel.

"Okay…" Jeremy muttered tentatively, "what are you doing? Is that a new interrogation method? Because I know nothing, I swear!"

Damon rolled his eyes at Jeremy's defiant expression, "I believe you" he said in such obvious sincerity that the boy's mouth fell open.

"Good…" he muttered still surprised and raised his sketchbook to hide his face from Damon.

* * *

According to the address written on the napkin, the house they were searching was located somewhere between Atlanta Georgia and Alabama, in a deserted place close to the Chattahoochee River.

Damon stopped the car in between some trees, a couple miles away from the house, in order to avoid attracting the unwanted attention of god-knows how-many vampires.

They stepped out of the car, both with their guns at the ready.

"Get killed and I will kill you" Damon whispered creepily inside Jeremy's ear, before setting off toward the direction of the house.

They walked on through the property for what seemed like a long time, always looking around them and listening closely with strained ears to make sure there were no vampires watching them. On their way, Jeremy noticed a cabin placed inside the woods, but Damon shook his head dismissively and kept walking. Soon Jeremy lost completely the track of time and all sense of how far they had come, but he couldn't worry about that. He was much too preoccupied catching up with the vampire pace, until he had to start jogging behind Damon to keep up.

Damon flung his arm in front of Jeremy, indicating for him to stop. Directly ahead of them, placed in the middle of the field, Jeremy could see a small house with a little garden and a white fence. It was made entirely out of wood. There weren't any other houses around in miles, and though it looked rather innocent, it made it the perfect spot for vampires to do whatever they wanted without the nosy interference of the human and vampire race.

Damon stood very still for a while, simply listening to the complete silence around him, trying to catch any indication that this house was packed up with members of a vampire cult.

"They can't come outside" Jeremy whispered, "unless they have daylight rings"

"There was a spell to create the ring in the journal" Damon reminded him. "Stay here" he said and before Jeremy had the chance to retaliate, Damon used his vampire speed and approached the house.

Jeremy watched him from afar as the vampire paced around the fence, unable to hear anything but the peculiar sounds of the birds and other creatures living inside the trees.

Damon raised his hand, motioning for Jeremy to follow him and carefully walked to the door, Alaric's crossbow at the ready.

"What the hell are you doing?" Damon hissed; his voice as little above a whisper, as Jeremy raised his fist and was about to knock on the door, "this isn't a social visit!"

"Sorry…" Jeremy muttered lowering his fist at once and braced himself to fight by getting a better hold of his gun.

Damon rolled his eyes and pushed the door. It was surprisingly unlocked and moved it aside with an audible creak revealing a small gap. Damon looked inside as far as his eyes could go and waved his hand around, testing whether or not he could enter.

"Vampire residence" he said satisfyingly at Jeremy who didn't feel very comforted by those news.

Damon stepped inside first and Jeremy went after him almost right away. He wasn't a vampire and he obviously didn't have Damon's hearing, but even he could tell there was nobody inside that house. Though it probably used to be nice and clean, it didn't look like anybody lived there for a while. All the windows were shut, the couches were turned upside down, and the paintings on the walls were hanging lopsidedly. It seemed like somebody came before them and made all the mess as he was searching for something. Whatever it was Jeremy wished they didn't find it.

"Oh that's just not good" Damon growled from the kitchen, leaning against the door frame, his eyes staring disappointedly at about fifteen bodies of dead vampires stacked one up to the other, forming a big, messy pile in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Jeremy moved instinctively closer to Damon, trying his best to ignore the smell of rotting vampire flesh that was now watering his eyes.

"They don't have the stone anymore" Damon guessed, still looking at the bodies, "poor idiots"

"You think Klaus might have something to do with this?" asked Jeremy, staring at the ceiling trying to avoid looking at the dead vampires.

"I should hope so" said Damon; though Jeremy could tell even he didn't believe it. Klaus knew they were going to Atlanta to find the stone, he wouldn't send anybody else to murder fifteen vampires…then of course it was Klaus and they should expect pretty much anything from him.

"Now wh—" Jeremy didn't finish his sentence when Damon abruptly turned his head around.

"Stay here" he said and disappeared without any further explanation.

Jeremy ran quickly out of the kitchen, trying to find Damon. He wasn't in the living or the diner.

"Damon" Jeremy called in a very low voice, knowing that the vampire could hear him. He waited with beating heart, but there was no response. Raising his gun in a position ready to shoot, he walked to the stairs and slowly went up.

Damon was standing in the entrance of one of the rooms, blocking it with his body, as though trying to prevent something from coming out. "I thought I told you to stay put" he spoke in a loud, stern voice, keeping his back turned on the boy and facing the inside of the room.

Jeremy ignored his tone and marched toward him, peeking inside over the man's shoulder. He couldn't see anything part from an empty bedroom. Damon moved in inch to the side and let Jeremy in, only then he saw what kept Damon preoccupied all this time. There was somebody in the room; a young man, in his mid-twenties was curled up in the corner, sobbing quietly into his hands.

"Who is that?" Jeremy whispered; his eyes darted on the brooding man.

"I'd like to know that" Damon watched as the man slowly turned his head and bore his scarlet eyes into Jeremy's, who returned the look unflinchingly.

Damon took a few steps forward, leaving the door unguarded and paced across the room to the desk and the bookshelves. Jeremy on the other hand remained still, as though paralyzed under the man's glare.

"You think he is a vampire?" he asked, as the man hid his face again in his hands, whimpering though without any visible tears.

"I would hope so" said Damon distractedly, opening and tossing to the side the books from the shelves.

"He doesn't seem dangerous" Jeremy noticed, "he does…nothing—" again Jeremy didn't complete his sentence when the man used his vampire speed and made a dash for the door, but before he had the chance to reach it, Jeremy shot him in the right leg and tackled him on the floor. In the next two seconds, Damon had them both standing, his hand seizing the man by the throat.

"You are a good judge of character, Jer" Damon teased him, his fingers clenching tighter the vampire's neck. "Now at least we'll get some answers"

"I don't think he will cooperate…" Jeremy panted, leaning against the wall.

"I disagree" said Damon in an unconcerned voice, carefully eyeing the vampire still trapped in a chokehold. "Now, Jer, go outside and call Stefan. Tell him to come over" he said taking his eyes away from the vampire for a first time to look at the boy, "and later take a walk, a long walk"

Jeremy didn't retort and didn't need to be told again, he knew exactly what would follow once he left that room and being a part of it was the last thing he wanted. He didn't mind killing vampires in order to protect the people he loved, but torturing was a completely different deal. He couldn't just sit and watch somebody suffer, even if he was a murderous vampire who probably had it coming. He simply couldn't do it and sometimes wished that Damon couldn't do it either.

Once he was out in the garden he closed the door behind him and hurriedly walked all the way to the other side of the field. He heard an earsplitting scream coming from inside the house, leaving him no doubt for what was going on, suddenly feeling eternally grateful to Damon for letting him out on the pretense of calling Stefan. He didn't want to look weak in front of Damon but he much less wanted to witness his persuasion technics.

Jeremy walked father, all the way to the other end of the property. The voice grew fainter and fainter until he could no longer hear it. Taking his phone out he texted Stefan about the pile of dead vampires, the one they captured and asked him to come over soon as he could.

Knowing that this would take a while, especially since the vampire didn't look all too keen to open up, he decided to follow Damon's advice and take a walk. He remembered again of the little cabin he and Damon had seen on their way to the house. It wasn't far and if he was a member of a cult wanting to hide something important, a storehouse in the middle of nowhere would seem like a good spot.

With hands deep inside the pocket of his hoody, Jeremy dragged his feet to the direction he saw the cabin. It was near the house and it didn't take longer than ten minutes for him to find it.

He tried to push the door open, but as he already figured it was locked. He kicked it once with his right foot, but since he wasn't a vampire or superman or any other supernatural creature with superpowers, the only thing that came out of it was a sharp pain on his big toe.

As a typical teenager that doesn't learn his lesson from the first mistake, Jeremy got ready to kick again when he got distracted by something on the ground next to the door. It was the dirt; it looked disturbed and uneven, forming a trail, as though something big and heavy was dragged recently out of that cabin.

Jeremy stepped carefully over the mark and without any hesitation decided to follow it.


	34. What Happens in Atlanta (Part 3)

Jeremy was walking hurriedly, following the trail in the ground, waiting with a sick feeling of longing to find the object that got carried outside the cabin. It must have been something big and heavy for vampires didn't have the physical strength to pick it up and had to drag it.

Very soon Jeremy got to the end of the trail and exceptionally pale, stared at his own reflection in the depths of a river.

"Oh shit…"

He looked back at the ground to make sure that whatever he was searching for was in fact disposed inside that river straight in front of him. He paced around thinking again and again what should be his next move, though he already knew all too well what was the one thing he had to do.

Damon was still in the house. He couldn't just stay there and wait for Damon to finish torturing that vampire. He had to see what was in there for the trail looked fresh in the ground and depending on how heavy the object was, the force of the water couldn't have the time to drift it too far yet. He was on his own in this one. Plus, by the time Damon was finished torturing that poor man, Jeremy would be out of the water and Damon never had to know.

The boy ran to the car and used his keys to open the trunk, knowing that Damon always carried a spare tool kit. He took out Damon's favorite 100ft climbing rope and went back to where the traces disappeared. He tied the one end of the rope around a tree near the river and the second around his waist. It was mid-January and the snow was still crispy under his toes as he kicked his shoes and socks off.

The moment he reached the frozen water and sunk his feet inside, he realized that his seemingly brilliant idea might not have been his best one after all. Though he had no other choice and anyway it was too late for second thoughts.

It felt as though countless needles pierced through his skin as he walked inside the river, sinking deeper and deeper with every little step he took, until the water got on the same level with his chest. Wanting more than anything this freezing hell to be over, he pushed aside a couple pieces of ice floating next to him and dived underwater.

For a few seconds it was peaceful, as though his heart completely stopped beating. He opened his eyes and in horror looked around him, suddenly very aware of the doom surrounding him.

He shook his head trying to chase away his fear, as well as the water getting inside his nostrils and swam along the river fast as he could, considering that every part of his body was fairly numb.

With his eyes wide open he searched down the dark river, going up every now and then to take a breath. It was only then when he realized for a first time how useful were all the miles he ran around the Salvatore property. Now he could hold his breath for longer than two minutes at a time and his body was so used to the physical exhaustion and low temperature to the point that it didn't bother him as much after the first ten minutes of being in the water.

He swam for about twenty minutes and had gone exactly in the middle of the river, where the depth was counter at around 17ft, when he dived again. He looked carefully around, trying to locate anything that could be considered suspicious. Everything was so dark he only wished he had the common sense to grab one of the ten flashlights Damon had in his trunk. _Damon_, the name popped into the boy's head. Damon would probably be over by now, he would be looking for him, and he didn't have time to keep searching something that was probably not there. Those trails must have been accidental and even if there was a chance that he was right, that object must have been pushed away by the river. He would never find it, for all he knew it could be anywhere.

He was about to swim back up, since he was growing slightly out of breath, when something shinny got his attention from the bottom of the river. He immediately dived deeper, all the way to what he thought was an out shaped rock.

He yelped in frustration, but instead of a sound, bubbles came out of his mouth as he realized that he was looking at a coffin.

Why would somebody throw a coffin in a river? He couldn't help but ask himself as he was struggling to open it, but that turned out to be impossible. He examined the lid; there were runes on it, Latin as well as Ancient Greek. This wasn't an accident; somebody deliberately tried to get rid of that coffin, though why?

Jeremy made attempt to pull it up and at once realized how stupid that was. The casket was heavy, made out of a medal, hence why it was shining, it must've been silver and the words were carved with gold. He untied the rope from his waist and wrapped it around the coffin several times, so Damon could pull it up later.

The boy was growing fast out of air, his lungs started to hurt and very soon he felt the familiar sense of getting choked. Being drowned was definitely not his favorite sensation and he couldn't allow himself to die this way. He had fought and lived through a lot worse than that. He had to do something, the ring wouldn't work and he would die if he just stayed there doing nothing. He pulled the rope, to make sure it was tight and with his last remaining strength, he kicked the ground.

* * *

Getting back on a dry land was a lot harder than he expected. His lungs were burning in every breath he took and he felt a lot dizzier than before. By the time he crawled out of the water he had almost lost his sight and hearing. His teeth were clattering, as he pushed his wet hair out of his face and lay on the ground, his chest heaving.

He could swear he wasn't laying there for no longer than five minutes, but when he half opened his eyes and looked through his eyelashes, he noticed that everything was dark and he wasn't outside anymore. From the roof above him, he could tell he was in Damon's car that was still parked in between the same trees he remembered from hours ago. All his wet clothes were missing and instead he was wrapped in a blanket.

Slowly regaining all his senses, he could hear voices from somewhere near. One undoubtedly belonged to Damon, while the second had to be Stefan's. He couldn't tell what they were saying but none of them sounded very pleased.

He heard the door of the car open and felt immediately somebody staring over him. The boy opened his eyes just in time to see Damon's palm slap him across the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jeremy jumped up, banging his head on the top of the roof, "I was already awake!" He shouted, holding both his cheek and his head.

"Hence the slap!" Damon snarled at him, "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you go for a swim? What are you, five?"

"I didn't go for a swim" said Jeremy indignantly, "did you see what I found? It's a –"

"A coffin" Damon completed his sentence for him, "you found an empty coffin at the bottom of a river"

"Empty?" Jeremy repeated stupidly, "why would somebody throw away an empty coffin in a river?"

"Why would a sixteen year old jump in a river to retrieve an empty coffin?" Damon asked in response and before Jeremy had time to say anything, Damon stepped out of the car.

"Doesn't it seem weird to neither of you how over a dozen vampires, all of them members of a cult are found dead at the exact same time when somebody tries to get rid of an empty coffin?" Jeremy got too out of the car to face the two men, still wrapped in the blanket. "What did the vampire say?" he turned to Damon.

"He doesn't know anything, he wasn't there when it happened" said Damon slightly frowning.

"What did he say about the cult?" Jeremy kept pushing for answers, striving to understand.

"He would rather bit off his own tongue than say anything" said Stefan, checking to see if Jeremy's body returned to his normal temperature.

"What if whoever killed them all wasn't here for the stone?" asked Jeremy, mostly speaking to himself. "We never actually had evidence that they stole it, we only assumed" he realized the truth of his words as they came out of his mouth. "Oh crap" he staggered back a few paces, and leaned against the car.

"What is it?" Stefan asked interestedly, earning himself a disdainful glare from Damon, who clearly just wanted for Jeremy to stop talking.

"Kol told me that for the resurrection spell you need a body and blood" Jeremy said in rush

"Jer," Stefan started cautiously, feeling the boy again to make sure he didn't have hypothermia, "when Kol mentioned a body I'm pretty sure he meant a real one, not a decapitated corpse" he said slowly, as though he was afraid that his words would hurt the boy.

"Not the body! The blood!" Jeremy shouted impatiently, throwing Stefan's hand off of him. "What if by blood he doesn't necessarily mean blood, but any kind of DNA?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon sounded fairly exasperated, while Stefan on the other hand looked confused and concerned for he thought that Jeremy's brain must have become an ice cube after all this time underwater.

"DNA! For the resurrection spell you need the stone, you need DNA from the person you want to resurrect and a body to put the soul in!" he yelled in frustration for nobody seemed to understand what for him was so obvious. "Think about it, it all makes sense! Somebody came here, killed those vampires, stole the bones and dumbed the coffin in the river to hide the evidence!"

"I think Stefan agrees when I say, no more TV for you" said Damon mockingly and took a couple steps forward. He opened the car door and motioned for Jeremy to get back inside but the boy was more than unwilling.

"Why don't you believe me?" he asked, watching Damon with nothing less but pure disappointment. He expected from Damon to be mad, but so far he never refused to hear him out, now he barely paid any attention to his words.

"Get inside" Damon nodded him to the car, but Jeremy remained rooted to the spot, staring from Damon to Stefan waiting for one of them to say something useful.

"Are you both brain-dead?" he yelled in frustration, "I'm telling you, whoever was in that coffin is getting resurrected in four days! We need to do something!"

"You'll need to be resurrected in four days if you don't stop talking, now get your naked, delusional ass in that car and shut up!" Damon yelled back at him.

Jeremy rolled his eyes but obeyed this time, "I always knew you were a dick, but I never thought you were stupid" he said bitterly as Damon shut the door behind him.

* * *

After emptying the motel room in Atlanta and relocating all of their belongings in the trunk of the car, everybody took their seats and braced themselves for a long ride back to Mystic Falls.

This time Stefan called shotgun first, mostly to spite Jeremy and the boy ended up lying on the backseat, still exhausted and cold, but at least now he was clothed.

Soon he fell asleep, since both Salvatore brothers refused to speak to him and he couldn't play with his PSP, due to the fact that Damon threatened to shove it out of the window while it was still attached to his hands.

"I think he has a point" said Stefan in a quiet voice, careful to not wake Jeremy up.

"I know he has a point" said Damon through clenched teeth, "why you think I compelled that courier to bring the coffin to Mystic Falls?"

"Are you going to tell him that?" Stefan nodded back at Jeremy.

"No and feel free to beat him up senseless" Damon glanced sideways at his brother with a little smirk.

Stefan's face hardened as he distractedly straightened up Jeremy's blanket to make sure the boy was warm. "He has no respect for me" he said bitterly.

Damon laughed at his brother's miserable expression, sure that Stefan was joking. "Wait, are you serious?" he asked, his grin fading, "why do you even care?"

"He lives in my house" Stefan shrugged, "how can I not care?"

"I don't care" Damon pursed his lips, his eyes darted up front avoiding to look at Stefan.

"Right" said Stefan sarcastically, "then please explain this to me, he dived in a frozen lake—"

"River" Damon cut him off, "it was a river"

"He dived _in a river_" Stefan continued as though there was no interruption, "to get evidence and please you. He came up with a reasonable explanation and basically did a hell of a job, so why are you angry at him?" he said with a self-righteous smirk upon his face that Damon chose to ignore and kept driving in complete silence.


	35. Teenage Drama

It was Thursday morning when Jeremy crept out of his bed and without having a breakfast he quickly left for school, way earlier than his usual last minute race to the class.

It was only a few hours since the Salvatore household returned back to the boarding house and last thing the boy wanted was to spend more time in Damon's and Stefan's company.

He drove into the school grounds and parked his car in his favorite spot, right next to the entrance. His eyes widened as he glued his face on the windshield, to make sure that his eyes were not playing a dirty trick on him.

He saw Kylie sitting on a bench near the stoner pit, though she was not alone. Next to her was a guy Jeremy recognized to be her lab partner, that punk Dylan.

The boy hurriedly got out of the car and with a stable, 'I'm-totally-cool-with-this' pace, he marched across the parking lot and over to his friend and the other guy that he now wanted to shoot down with his crossbow.

"Hi" he said interrupting something that Dylan was saying, while forcing a polite smile on his face.

"Oh my god!" Kylie pressed her hand against her mouth in shock and trapped the boy in a bear hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming today?" she playfully stroked him on the shoulder.

"Surprise" said Jeremy grinning at her, while discreetly turning his back to the other boy.

"Well you're lucky" stated Kylie, her hands still wrapped around Jeremy as though she was afraid to let go, "I was about to skip school for today, Dylan—" she looked over Jeremy's shoulder at Dylan who got up to his feet, "—knows this great place, it used to be a small theater before the civil war"

"Yeah, I know that place" Jeremy turned around after he decided he couldn't keep ignoring Dylan, despite how much he might have wanted to. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to ruin your plans" he said with a satisfied grin that only Dylan could see.

"Maybe another time" Dylan raised his eyebrows in challenge.

"Maybe" Jeremy repeated kindly, though his eyes were burning in an 'over-my-dead-body' sort of way.

"That's great, maybe we could go all together sometime" said Kylie, having no clue why both of her friends sounded like they've been hit by a track.

"Maybe" the two boys said in one voice, staring at each other unblinkingly.

Kylie hugged Dylan goodbye, seized Jeremy from the upper arm and dragged him a little farther, where they were out of Dylan's earshot.

"How was your trip?" she asked in a testy voice.

"Well," Jeremy took a second to think, "I'm grounded for the rest of my life and we didn't exactly get the stone back, but I think we have decent leads as to where is it" stopping for a single deep breath, Jeremy forgot everything about Dylan and his pathetic attempts to get closer to Kylie and focused into all the details of the trip, confiding to the girl his ideas and theories.

"What is wrong with you?!" Kylie poked him twice with her finger right after Jeremy mentioned the incident in the river. "You could have died" she screamed looking almost as mad as Damon.

"But I didn't…" Jeremy retorted innocently and hurried to change the subject, "so I called Kol, he said he'll help us to identify the coffin"

"How?" Kylie raised her eyebrows, "You said it's in Atlanta"

"It would be, if Damon didn't compel some guy to bring it back to Mystic Falls. I accidently overheard him and Stefan talking about it" said Jeremy proudly, "so chances are it's in the Mikaelson household as we speak. I already gave the hands up to Kol; he'll keep an eye for it"

"You're fast" Kylie admired in an awed voice.

Jeremy smirked self-satisfyingly and was about to open his mouth to keep talking about his brilliantness, when Kylie cut him off. "I just hope it will be fast, I have to meet Dylan tomorrow at eight. He challenged me to a game of pool" she announced, watching Jeremy's color fade right off his face.

'A date?' he wanted to ask but held his words, as though by not saying them it would make the situation less real. Instead he recovered right away, straightened up and said in his most indifferent voice, "Actually, I was thinking maybe you would like to go to the movies with me tomorrow, catch up with the 'mortal instruments'" he spoke the magic words.

It was Kylie's turn to be shocked. Her eyes widened and her jar fell open, but she didn't say anything for a while. "You're not joking?" she asked in a very constrained voice, putting all her self-restrain to keep her from shrieking.

"No, I'm not joking. Vampires and dead bodies can wait" said Jeremy with a shrug, surprised as to how fast she forgot about Dylan.

"Aren't you grounded?" Kylie continued in the same 'I-don't-want-to-have-false-hope' sort of voice.

"Yeah, but I don't think they know how that works" said Jeremy thoughtfully, "they say it all the time, I act like I care and then they forget all about it"

Kylie could barely control her excitement. She was begging Jeremy to go to the movies ever since they met, but somehow vampires, stones and journals were always more important.

"It's a date then!" she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran through the entrance, as the school bell rang, announcing the beginning of another school day.

* * *

Through the next seven hours Jeremy felt like a caged animal. He completely flunked his math test and in attempt to avoid Kylie, he spend the rest of the day hiding in the boys bathroom, putting everybody under the impression he was smoking weed again.

When the moment of his freedom finally came, he burst out of his classroom before anybody else had the chance to move and drove straight back home. He was in such hurry he almost got a speeding ticket, but he actually managed to outran the police car that was after him.

"Where is Damon? I need Damon" he almost shouted in Stefan's face the moment he ran inside the living room, searching for Damon.

"He is in the Study" Stefan replied puzzled and before Jeremy could run off again; he seized him from the back of his sweater and pulled him a couple steps backwards. "How did you do on your test?"

"What?" Jeremy barked at him, looking at Stefan as though he was completely insane. "How do you even know about my test?" he stopped struggling for a second against Stefan's grip.

"I have your schedule" Stefan stated out the obvious.

"That's not creepy at all…" Jeremy muttered in a sing-song voice, slapping Stefan's hand off of him, but the man still refused to let go.

"So?" Stefan prompted him, "how did you do?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and knowing from previous conversations of this sort that the sooner he would answer, the sooner he could go find Damon, he decided to get this over with. "I got a C" he said in a dulcet tone.

Stefan sighed darkly as Jeremy expected him to, though remarkably fast that grief and disappointment transformed into anger and determination, "I don't understand" he said sternly, "the kids who get all the A's are what? Smarter than you?"

Though Jeremy technically knew that this was meant to be a rhetorical question, he felt a sudden need to answer.

"Grades have nothing to do with intelligence" he retorted and added matter-of-factly, "Kylie got a C as well"

"I don't care what others do!" Stefan shouted, slightly shaking him, "I care what you do"

"But…you just compered me to…you know, whatever, never mind" he was about to set off toward the study, since Stefan had finally freed him from his grip, but the person he was so fervent to find had just entered the living room and was now pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"I need to speak to you!" he went over to Damon and followed him to the couch.

"If it's about Atlanta—" Damon started threateningly.

"Atlanta? Who cares about Atlanta?" he shook his head dismissively, "It's about Kylie"

Damon raised his eyebrows, merely taken aback, "I'm listening" he said without really looking at the boy, "did she say 'I love you' again?"

"No" Jeremy intoned, "but I may or may have not asked her on a date…"

Damon rounded on him, clearly amused, "did you?"

"That's the problem, I'm not sure" the boy flopped down into an armchair, hiding his eyes with his hand.

"You're not sure?" Stefan repeated disbelievingly, "how can you not be sure?"

"I asked if she wanted to go to see a movie with me tomorrow" Jeremy started in an unnaturally quiet voice, "and she said _yes_"

"So far so good" Stefan commented, leaning over the back of Jeremy's chair.

Jeremy shook his head miserably and added, "and then she said: '_it's a date_'" he imitated Kylie's cheery voice.

"It's a date" both Salvatore brothers confirmed in sync.

Jeremy let a roar of frustration and covered his entire face with a pillow from the couch. "I'm such an idiot!"

"You are such a _girl_" Damon corrected him, "it's a date with a cute blond who is dumb enough to like you, what could possibly be your problem?"

"I don't want to be her boyfriend; I want to be her friend who happens to be—"

"—Gay?" Damon cut him off.

"No, but—"

"Why did you ask her out in the first place?" Jeremy got interrupted again, this time by Stefan.

Knowing the teasing that would follow if he dared to even mention Dylan's name, Jeremy just shifted his shoulders and launched himself off of his seat. "Thank you for the help" he said sarcastically and strolled out of the living room before somebody could ask another question he didn't want to answer.

* * *

Trying to push Kylie and their date right off his mind, Jeremy decided to focus on the stone and the coffin and come up with unreasonable theories, until he had any real news.

On Friday he was supposed to meet Kol after school, after he supposedly spend the last couple of days examining the coffin that was now at the Mikaelson mansion, but instead, Kol showed up at his high school, during lunch time.

He approached Jeremy from behind and sat on his table, right between Jeremy and Kylie.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy sighed, though a part of him was grateful that Kol broke the tense silence that was going since Kylie sat next to him

"First off, I should kill you for double-crossing me" said Kol pleasantly, though he looked fairly mad.

"Oh get over it" Jeremy scoffed, "you would have done the same"

Kol's eye twitched a little bit, however he didn't say anything.

"Did you find something?" asked Jeremy.

"Yes" Kol twisted his hands and pulled a paper out of his pocket, "here" he passed it over to Jeremy.

The boy set his sandwich on the table and took hold of the paper, "Alexandros" he read out loud, "who is Alexandros?"

"Alexander the Great?" asked Kylie mockingly.

"No, that's the name of the sorcerer that helped my mother create the stone. He was the one in that coffin" said Kol rather briskly.

"How can you tell?" asked Jeremy, looking again down in the paper.

"Well—" Kol took a bite off of Jeremy's sandwich, "I did put him in that coffin, soon after he made the stone…boy was he mad" he said dreamily.

"So now he is trying to resurrect himself with his stone?" asked Kylie, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Wouldn't surprise me, he was always one canny old man"

"Why did you kill him?" asked Jeremy, though he knew all too well that Kol and his family didn't exactly need a reason to kill somebody.

"Didn't you hear me?" Kol took another big bite from the sandwich, "he was a canny old man, always getting in the way, he had to go"

Kylie and Jeremy exchanged a look, but refused to make any comments.

"So," Kol clapped his hands and stood up "now we wait until the full moon, catch them on the act and kill everybody before Alexandros comes back for the reunion and…you know how that works"

"That will be one romantic night" said Jeremy sarcastically.

"As long as you two love birds don't screw up" Kol smiled pleasantly at the two of them before departing.

Jeremy sat in silence for a little while processing all the news Kol had just delivered, until he looked to his side and saw Kylie. His stomach twisted as he realized they were alone again.

"I got to go" he jumped on his feet and in attempt to sound less of a jerk he added, "I'll pick you up at eight" he kissed her softly on the top of her head and almost ran to the exit.

His original destination was the biology lab, since that was his next class but soon after he left the cafeteria he came face to face with Dylan. Jeremy went to move passed him but Dylan shoved him back a few paces.

"What's your problem?" said Jeremy defiantly, though he could guess the reason why he looked so pissed. Kylie must have already cancelled her date with him and he had probably figured why.

"What is _your_ problem?" Dylan retorted, "I asked her first"

Jeremy raised his eyebrows at Dylan's tone, "she is not an object, if she wanted to go out with you, she would. Now if you excuse me" Jeremy made a second attempt to leave, but Dylan got in front of him.

"Dude, what do you want from me?" Jeremy started getting slightly irritated.

"I know who you are Gilbert, and you don't deserve a girl like her"

"You don't know me," Jeremy spat, but hurried to calm himself, "and I agree with you, I don't deserve her"

"Then call it off, you freak, you don't even want to be with her. If you did you wouldn't wait until I asked her to make a move" said Dylan, looking up at Jeremy as though he was the worst person on planet earth.

Jeremy didn't understand why those words bothered him as much as they did, especially since he himself acknowledged them to be the truth. He did ask Kylie out just because Dylan did it first and he most definitely was in fact a freak.

"Chicks like Kylie don't hang out with losers like you. Face it Gilbert, you will always be the stoner freak"

"Shut up" Jeremy warned him, his hands balled into fists.

Dylan shuddered mockingly, "Or what? What are you going to do? Tell your mommy? Oh wait, you don't have a mom…you're an orphan, aren't you Gilbert?" he sniggered.

It was that moment when Jeremy realized he had enough. He took a couple steps forward and was glad to see that Dylan did the same. They both had their fists at the ready and it was a matter of time until one of them would attack. Jeremy didn't want to be that person. Dylan was nowhere near as strong or fast and he didn't find it fair to be the one to start a fight but as long as Dylan tried to hit him he would gladly protect himself and in the process maybe manage to score a couple of good punches.

"You know what? You're not worthy of my time" Jeremy lowered his fists and turned his back on the boy.

"Are you chickening on me Gilbert? Didn't your father have enough time to make you a man?" he heard Dylan shout after him as well as a few groans from his fellow students that were now leaving the cafeteria and started filling up the corridor.


End file.
